Scottish Government urged to end alcohol advertising in sports
They're being urged to "break the bond" between alcohol and sport
Last updated 14th Nov 2022
A former first minister has called on the Scottish Government to end alcohol advertising in sports after research revealed Scotland had more booze ads in top-flight football than most European leagues.
Only Belgium had a higher proportion of alcohol ads than Scotland, according to Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (Shaap), with half of the country's premiership teams having at least one alcohol company as a main sponsor or partner.
Dr Alastair MacGilchrist, chairman of Shaap, said it was time to ban such sponsorship as his organisation launched its Calling Time campaign.
Former first minister and avid football fan, Henry MacLeish, said the "very special and unique" commitment shown by supporters to their clubs was "being capitalised on by the alcohol industry".
"We must find a better way to finance Scottish football, finding sponsors with values that align with sports and community, and that's why I support today's call for a ban on alcohol sponsorship of sports," he said.
Time to "break the bond"
Meanwhile, Dr MacGilchrist urged the Scottish Government to "break the bond between alcohol and sport by banning alcohol sponsorship of sport in order to protect the health of people in Scotland".
His organisation said sport sponsorship provided alcohol companies with a prominent and highly attractive method of reaching a large audience, which Shaap said could influence how much and how often they consume alcohol.
In the research, carried out by the University of Stirling's Institute for Social Marketing and Health, they found that 6.4% of sponsorship in Scottish football was from the alcohol industry - far higher than the 2.6% average across all 10 countries investigated.
Shaap said countries with laws restricting alcohol marketing and sponsorship have comparatively less alcohol sponsorship in their top flight clubs.
Scottish Government consultation
Currently in Scotland and the rest of the UK, alcohol marketing and sport sponsorship is self-regulated.
But the government north of the border is set to consult on plans to restrict alcohol marketing.
Tom Bennett, of the Scottish Recovery Consortium, said self-regulation was not working.
"Sponsorship is triggering and makes us drink - and it's extremely effective - that's why the industry invest so much money in it," he said.
"Sports sponsorship sends completely the wrong message, especially to our children, that healthy activity is associated with alcohol.
"It's completely unacceptable that people are bombarded with alcohol sponsorship when attending their favourite sports events."
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "We would encourage sporting organisations to diversify sponsorship away from the alcohol industry because it encourages young people to drink alcohol and can have a detrimental impact on those in recovery from problem drinking.
"We will shortly issue a public consultation setting out potential restrictions on alcohol advertising and promotion in Scotland."