Calling closing time on drink ads 12.10.07

INISHOWEN'S senator has called for a ban on alcohol adverts on television before the 9pm watershed to reduce binge drinking and its associated problems.

Senator Cecilia Keaveney's call follows EU findings that the current system is ineffective in reducing the pressure on young people to drink. “As long as alcohol advertisements continue to link alcohol with positive images of a great social life and lots of friends, the pressure on our young people to drink will remain," she said. “Ireland heads the European league in terms of alcohol consumption and there has been a 50% increase in alcohol addiction among the under-25s in recent years. "All this is reflected in the unacceptable number of
deaths on our roads and in a high suicide rate. It is well documented that the younger you start to drink, the more damage is caused." She said given the huge number of television channels that young people are exposed to in a satellite age, there was a strong argument for an EU wide ban. “In 2005, alcohol companies spent more than €50 million in Ireland on advertising. The same year a survey of third-level students in Ireland showed that out of every 100 drinking occasions, 76 ended up in binge drinking for male students and 60 for female students, and that these binge drinking occasions were associated with a range of adverse consequences, including poor academic performance, money problems, unprotected sex and accidents,”, she added.
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