Study reveals insidious impact of alcohol marketing on young people

Stricter regulation

The authors of the study say the current system of self-regulation for alcohol advertising in the UK is insufficient to limit brand exposure among young people, and they have called for stricter regulation of indirect marketing strategies to better protect young people and support public health objectives.

Alcohol consumption among young people remains a global public health concern, according to a recent World Health Organization report, however young people are regularly exposed to alcohol marketing across multiple channels, including television, digital platforms, social media, sponsorships, and product placements.

Dr Richard Purves, from The Institute for Social Marketing and Health (ISMH) at the University of Stirling, who led the study, said: “Alcohol branding of major sporting events isn’t just background noise – it’s shaping young people’s attitudes and expectations from an early age in a way that parents and policymakers don’t always see.

“Our findings show that young people are growing up surrounded by alcohol branding, particularly through sport, and this repeated exposure normalises alcohol use long before the legal drinking age.

“Even in countries where advertising restrictions exist, indirect tactics like alibi branding and core-branded alcohol-free and low-alcohol sponsorships allow alcohol brands to remain highly visible.

“Without stronger regulation, these strategies risk undermining efforts to protect young people from alcohol-related harm.”

Dr Richard Purves

The study explored how 11- to 17-year-olds interpret indirect alcohol branding, particularly in contexts where sport sponsorship is used to maintain visibility despite advertising restrictions.

Using ten online focus groups of 44 participants, stratified by age and gender, the research found that young people in Scotland demonstrated high levels of recognition for familiar alcohol brand imagery even when explicit brand names were absent.

Alibi marketing was widely recognised and strongly linked to full-strength alcohol products by respondents. Similarly, core-branded alcohol-free and low-alcohol sponsorship was often interpreted as advertising for traditional alcohol products due to almost identical branding.

Participants expressed concern that these indirect marketing tactics operate in regulatory loopholes, making alcohol brands persistently visible to a demographic that should be shielded from such influence.

Many suggested there should be clearer differentiation between alcohol-free and alcoholic products to avoid misleading young audiences.

Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) Chair Dr Alastair MacGilchrist said: “This research lays bare that the marketing of alibi and alcohol-free and low-alcohol brands is indistinguishable from the marketing of full-strength products in the eyes of young people.

“The alcohol industry mimics the past tactics of the tobacco industry and constantly finds new and innovative ways to market their products which attract future consumers.

“Evidence shows that when young people are exposed to alcohol marketing, they are more likely to start drinking at a younger age and more likely to develop a problematic relationship with alcohol.

“It’s clear that self-regulation by the alcohol industry does not protect children and young people from marketing, despite their claims to the contrary, so I would urge the next Scottish Government to prioritise introducing watertight regulation to end all types of alcohol sponsorship of sports.”

Dr Alastair MacGilchrist

The study Young people’s views of NoLo and alibi alcohol sponsorship was published in the International Journal of Drug Policy.

It was funded by Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP) and SPECTRUM, a UK Prevention Research Partnership (UKPRP) Consortium funded by the UKRI Research Councils, the Department of Health and Social Care (England) and the UK devolved administrations, and leading health research charities.