Bid to protect children from alcohol advertising

  The BMA in Scotland and other campaigners are calling on politicians to pledge action to protect children from alcohol advertising. In the run up to May’s Scottish Parliament election, the association wants politicians from all parties to commit to giving greater priority to protecting children from the impact of marketing by the alcohol industry. BMA Scotland council chair Peter Bennie said: ‘The presence of alcohol branding is currently ever present in the lives of children in Scotland. 'There can be few children in Scotland who are not exposed to some form of alcohol advertising or branding on an almost daily basis. ‘The next parliamentary term must see concrete action to protect children from alcohol marketing and I hope all candidates at this election will sign up to endorse that.’   Risk factors There is evidence that children exposed to alcohol marketing begin drinking earlier in life and more heavily than those who are not. Studies have also shown a link between exposure to alcohol marketing and risky drinking. As well as BMA Scotland, the organisations calling for politicians to pledge to do more are Alcohol Focus Scotland, SHAAP (Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems), and Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol & Drugs. SHAAP director Eric Carlin said doctors and nurses in Scotland saw daily the harm alcohol did to young people and their families. He added: ‘Rather than accepting the inevitability that all young p...
Source: BMA News - Category: UK Health Source Type: news