Dundee West MSP Joe FitzPatrick is taking action on behalf of constituents who took their young family to a cinema during Christmas and were appalled at the quantity and content of the alcohol commercials shown during their visit.
Joe said: “The Scottish Government made a commitment in its Alcohol Bill published last year to reduce the impact of alcohol advertising and is taking a wide range of actions to tackle alcohol misuse and promote a culture of sensible and responsible drinking, but it won’t be able to curb alcohol advertising in cinemas until the UK Government legislates.
“The Scottish Government does not have powers to regulate broadcast advertising so the Scottish Public Health Minister cannot do any more than urge the UK Government to develop a UK approach to cinema advertising which protects children.
“Recent studies by the University of Sheffield and by the European Alcohol and Health Forum indicate consistent evidence of advertising having an effect on young people’s drinking.
“In their reply to me, the Cinema Advertising Association admitted that ‘in 2008, 13% of the audience who saw alcohol commercials in the cinema were under 18. They also admit the proportion of alcohol commercials rises around the Christmas period but claim it never exceeds 40 % of the adverts shown. But this does not include advertisements for a cinema’s own products, nor does it include trailers for forthcoming films – where there could be more alcohol products shown.
“So there are grounds for concern. Firstly, the code about alcohol adverts is dependent on a panel, made up of advertisers and it relies on individual cinemas’ ‘self-imposed rule’ of how many adverts shown will be for alcohol.
“Both the Scottish and UK Governments are trying to tackle our legacy of serious alcohol misuse, and frankly, alcohol advertising in cinemas is an area that seems to me ripe for review and possible new legislation to better influence the drinking habits of the next generation. I will be taking the issue further.”
