Should Alcohol Commercial Be Banned?

Alcohol commercials have been around for years now, but are they really appropriate and should they be banned?

There is no proven link between the commercials and the amount of alcohol consumed, so is the ban really necessary?

Alcohol abuse is an illness and one caused by many different complex and personal reasons and is unlikely to be sorted by something as simple as the ban of commercials. Whilst this is true, nobody is saying things will change overnight. The ban of alcohol commercials may not be a solution to the excessive levels of alcohol consumption but it would certainly be a step in the right direction.

Positive Promotion

The glamorization of alcohol in advertisements is said to have influence on people and their behavior or beliefs. Of course the advertisers are going to promote their brand in a positive light, so how can they argue that they aren’t encouraging people to drink? The companies show their drink in the best possible way in order to sell their products, but don’t inform people about the risks associated with drinking. How can someone deem it appropriate to advertise something positively that affects so many people in a dangerous way.

Targeting the young

Currently, the standard is that alcohol advertisements can only be placed in media where the majority of the audience is over the legal drinking age, but what about that small minority that are underage. Many adverts have been criticized for appealing to the younger audience, specifically through the means of social network sites.

A study in April 2012 revealed that, 78.2% of US teenagers were reported to have consumed alcohol; and 15.1% met criteria for lifetime abuse. This proves that it’s not just people of legal age who are affected by alcohol abuse.
Facebook were quick to deny claims that they allow alcohol companies to target children. But how can anyone really control who has access to what on

Facebook?

Advertising leads to awareness
Many people would not know of all the different brands or different types of alcohol if it weren’t for the adverts. Whilst yes, everyone will be aware that alcohol exists, they would be less likely to try something new or would be unaware of it, if they hadn’t seen it advertised.

Out of sight out of mind

Following from the previous point, people would also be less aware of any offers, or promotions if it weren’t for the commercials. Seeing alcohol being advertised could be the fatal step back for a recovering alcoholic, or could be the first step towards someone starting to drink. People often say, ‘out of sight out of mind’. Following this principle we could assume that the ban of alcohol commercials would help to prevent people from consuming alcohol. After all, if the adverts weren’t succeeding in selling the products then why would people be spending ridiculous amounts of money on producing them? So they must in some way be influencing people to buy their products.

Alcohol abuse is an illness

Alcohol in itself isn’t a health issue, and in moderation is perfectly safe. It’s more down to the individual and their decision to drink responsibly or not. However, alcohol abuse is an illness, and how can you expect these people to keep control of their illness with advertisements being pushed in their faces. People don’t understand the effects alcohol can have on not just an individual but the people around them or just how serious this illness can be. The ban of alcohol commercials would not only help prevent people from starting drinking, but also support recovering alcoholics and therefore be beneficial.