Targeting alcohol’s ties with sport

A bill before the House seeks to break “the cultural connection between sport and alcohol”.

Green MP Chlöe Swarbrick’s Sale and Supply of Alcohol (Harm Minimisation) Amendment Bill proposes a ban on alcohol sponsorship and advertising of all streamed and live sports, and a ban on alcohol sponsorship at all sporting venues.

The private member’s bill, not yet at a select committee, also seeks to ensure local councils can determine the location and density of alcohol outlets in their districts.

The proposed major marketing restrictions draw on recommendations of the likes of the 2014 Ministerial Forum on Alcohol Advertising and Sponsorship.

The forum sought reductions in young people’s exposure to messages that encourage them to drink alcohol and removal of the link between sport and alcohol.

READ MORE: Lighten the load of alcohol harms

Clubs New Zealand, representing about 300 clubs, says small community organisations and sporting codes “will be the losers”.

On its website, the non-profit says smaller clubs will rely on every sponsorship or advertising dollar they receive.

“Big broadcast events such as the America’s Cup will receive exemptions (as already provided for within the bill) or will have non-alcohol sponsors waiting in the wings to take over.”

A post on-topic on the University of Otago Public Health Expert blog says the burden of alcohol harm falls heavily on low-income communities and Māori.

It is well-established that exposure to alcohol marketing – including sports sponsorship – contributes to the onset of drinking during adolescence and contributes to binge drinking in young people, the public-health academics write.

The authors, including senior research fellow Tim Chambers, suggest a sponsorship replacement system to support sports organisations to sustainably transition away from alcohol sponsorship. They say there should be few exemptions for international sporting events, and music and other social events should be brought into the bill.

On the district-council front, the bill’s explanatory note points out these authorities can try to develop local alcohol policies to enhance community wellbeing, but large companies have used their appeal rights to largely block such policies. “And those that have been adopted have only rarely included regulations over the location and density of stores selling alcohol.”

We're publishing this article as a FREE READ so it is FREE to read and EASY to share more widely. Please support us and the hard work of our journalists by clicking here and subscribing to our publication and website