No one in Ireland needs to be convinced of the dreadful problem Irish society faces with the misuse of alcohol. Without alcohol at the centre of Irish life we would have fewer premature deaths, road fatalities, injuries, assaults, rapes and suicides; and less vandalism, domestic violence and child abuse. We would also see fewer babies born with a dependence on alcohol, less cancer, less absenteeism, while seeing higher productivity, better health outcomes, and lower expenditure commitments.
Each of us can see first-hand the awful consequences of the misuse of alcohol in the lives of someone close to us and we all know it is vital that we as a people respond to the challenges presented by alcohol misuse with an appropriate, credible and holistic strategy.
However, no strategy can be successful unless it tackles every aspect of the problem and ensures every department and every sector plays its part. In terms of a strategy on alcohol, this includes measures in relation to pricing, licensing, enforcement and availability. But it also needs to include measures that deal with the promotion of alcohol.
The promotion of alcohol takes many forms, and sports sponsorship is a significant component of this. It has been reported that the Government is to drop the proposal to phase out alcohol sponsorship of sport from its alcohol strategy. Somewhere between €10 and €20 million in funding each year is provided to sports bodies by alcohol drinks companies. Of the three main sports in Ireland, dependence on alcohol sponsorship is heavier for soccer and rugby, but particularly rugby, than it is for the GAA, where alcohol funding is now relatively minor – and declining. Such sponsorship is not engaged in for philanthropic reasons. Clearly, there is substantial commercial gain for the drinks industry if it is willing to spend these amounts on promotion.
But sure what harm is it doing? Well, a lot actually. Drinks companies are seeking to glamorise their product by associating it with our sporting heroes. The promotion of alcohol in this fashion has a particular impact on the early initiation of young people into drinking.
I would encourage readers to look at Prof Gerard Hastings’s analysis into sponsorship of sports and music events by the alcohol industry in the UK. In this study, internal industry documentation was sourced as part of an investigation into the conduct of the industry. The report, titled “They’ll drink bucket loads of the stuff”, which is on www.alcoholresearchuk.org, highlighted a deliberate use of sports and music sponsorship to recruit young male drinkers.
Source: Róisín Shortall, Irish Times, 28/01/15
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