Advertisement

Bus stop booze ad ban plan splits city council

A State Government push for a ban on bus shelter alcohol advertising is dividing the city council and angering the advertising industry – but health advocates say it’s a step in the right direction in tackling drinking problems.

Sep 02, 2016, updated Sep 02, 2016
Opponents of alcohol advertising in public spaces argue that it influences young people's drinking habits. Photo: AAP

Opponents of alcohol advertising in public spaces argue that it influences young people's drinking habits. Photo: AAP

Last month, the Government announced that it would ban beer, wine and spirits advertising from its trains, buses and trams, and urged all councils to follow suit by banishing booze ads from their bus stops.

But Adelaide city councillors are split on the proposal.

Several councillors agree the outdoor adverts risk encouraging “vulnerable people” to drink, and may entice young people to take up drinking earlier, while others worry the state’s brand as a premier destination for boutique wine and beer would be damaged if the outdoor ads were banished.

While the Adelaide City Council does not own bus shelters with advertising space in its own right, it has the power to renegotiate its contract with private company Adshel, which does own them, to add a ban on alcohol advertising to the existing prohibitions on political, religious, offensive or pornographic content in bus stops.

Central Ward councillor Houssam Abiad said South Australia was “a very, very popular international wine exporter and wine producer” and that a ban would “affect an industry that’s all about moderation”.

Area councillor Anne Moran said she would actively oppose a ban because alcohol was “a completely legal product … that South Australia particularly wants to promote”, adding: “We have plenty of adverts recommending safe drinking”.

North Ward councillor Phil Martin suggested that “in a responsible society … there should be as few restraints on what we do and see as possible”.

However, Deputy Lord Mayor Megan Hender, herself a wine producer, told InDaily she would consider the Government’s proposal with “some sympathy” because of the social problems alcohol could cause.

“I’d like to look at some pros and cons, which might include some financial implications for our ratepayers,” she added.

"[With] outdoor ads, you can't control who sees them": The Alcohol Advertising Review Board is campaigning against alcohol ads in bus shelters.

“[With] outdoor ads, you can’t control who sees them”: The Alcohol Advertising Review Board is campaigning against alcohol advertising in bus shelters.

Central Ward councillor David Slama said he was concerned outdoor alcohol advertising targeted the vulnerable, while South Ward councillor Priscilla Corbell said the proposal was “a move in the right direction”.

“I just think there are plenty of other avenues [where the alcohol industry can advertise],” Corbell said.

Lord Mayor Martin Haese has not responded to InDaily’s requests for comment.

Charmaine Moldrich, CEO of the peak body for the outdoor advertising industry, the Outdoor Media Association,  told InDaily alcohol brands had every right to advertise in public spaces.

“Alcohol is a legal product,” she said.

“The irony is massive that South Australia is the state that you go to because it’s known as the place where you get great wine.

“I agree alcohol [abuse] is an issue in Australia, [but] banning advertising isn’t necessarily a panacea.”

She said the underage drinking rate had been falling in recent decades and that education on responsible drinking was the answer to social problems associated with alcohol, rather than bans on booze ads.

“Where’s the evidence that if you ban these that something will change?”

But the evidence is there, according to Julia Stafford, executive officer at the McCusker Centre for Action on Alcohol and Youth.

“There’s very compelling evidence that alcohol advertising influences young people,” she said.

“A lot of the themes in alcohol advertising appeal to young people, [including] mateship and cheap prices.

“[With] outdoor ads, you can’t control who sees them.”

She said industry self-regulation had been ineffective in preventing young people’s exposure, and that falling rates of underage drinking did not reduce the justification for banning booze ads in public spaces.

“The encouraging trends don’t mean we don’t have problems,” she said.

“There’s still far too much harm.”

She insisted, however, that: “We’re not trying to ban all alcohol advertising – the evidence [of harm caused by public space advertising] is around young people.”

Ashlea Bartram, a PhD student at the University of Adelaide’s School of Public Health, told InDaily: “Advertising plays a big role in building and reinforcing our social norms around alcohol – depicting alcohol as a normal, central part of social events.

“Reducing children’s exposure to alcohol advertising may help to interrupt the transmission of these social norms to younger generations, thus making it easier for them to choose to drink moderately or not at all.

“Advertising is not the only factor influencing these norms, but it is a significant one.”

A State Government spokesperson said removing alcohol ads from public transport was “an important step in our efforts to change the drinking behaviour and attitudes of young people” and that “major national advertisers book well in advance [and] this will allow for a transition period”.

“The decision took into account research, including a report by the Alcohol Advertising Review Board and the recommendations of Review of the South Australian Liquor Licensing Act, which included extensive consultation with relevant stakeholders,” the spokesperson said, adding that the decision was expected to result in about $148,000 in lost revenue to the Government.

The spokesperson said the Government’s SA Tourism campaigns promoting beer and wine experiences were different from alcohol advertising on public transport and bus stops because there was “a distinction between primary product advertising, where specific alcoholic products are advertised, and indirect advertising such as alcohol logos used on sporting uniforms as part of sponsorship deals or the promotion of food and wine events”.

A spokesperson for the Local Government Association said the organisation would be consulting with councils on the proposed ban in coming weeks and months.

The Alcohol Advertising Review Board is an arm of the McCusker Centre for Action on Alcohol and Youth.

Adshel declined to comment.

Local News Matters
Advertisement
Copyright © 2024 InDaily.
All rights reserved.