Alcohol Advertising Restrictions In Public Places

Summary

Alcohol advertising and promotion creates an environment that encourages underage and/or binge drinking behaviors. Restrictions on alcohol advertising includes any policies that limit advertising of alcoholic beverages; particularly advertising that exposes young people to alcohol messages. Restrictions can be in the form of a local ordinance, or may be implemented voluntarily by a business, event or organization.

Restrictions on advertising and promotion can take the following forms:

• Restricting advertising on public property.
• Adopting zoning restrictions for alcohol advertising.
• Restricting signage on storefronts; and
• Limiting television, radio, newspaper and billboard advertisement.

As with all strategies that focus on policy change, enforcement should always be considered as a critical, parallel strategy. Effective deterrence increases the perception that those who violate the policy will be held accountable. This increases the probability that policy change will result in desired outcomes.

Core Components

Dosage/Frequency

At least 50% of the population of focus should be impacted by policy change by the end of the project period. This dosage will need to be reviewed and approved by the Agency.

Required Key Steps

All policies developed or strengthened through this strategy must be formally written, signed by the community leadership and kept on file at the contracted agency as documentation. Contact the Agency Project Director/Coordinator for additional grant requirements about this documentation.

In collaboration with the coalition, discuss/complete the following:

1. Assess what the community needs and issues are around alcohol advertising in public places.
2. Determine whether communities have alcohol-related policies regarding alcohol advertising in public places.
3. Discuss possible policies to be strengthened or developed with community leadership.
   • The City/County Attorney should be engaged in discussions about any potential policy changes.
   • Develop and implement policies for alcohol advertising in public places that can include:
     1. Restricting advertising on public property.
     2. Adopting zoning restrictions for alcohol advertising.
        • Limiting television, radio, newspaper and billboard advertisement.
        • Banning or restricting alcohol ads in the local media.
        • Prohibiting ads in the local media to include images and/or statements that portray or encourage intoxication.
        • Requiring all alcohol ads in the local media to include warnings about the risks of alcohol consumptions.
        • Setting a maximum for the percentage of total advertising space that alcohol ads can cover in the local media.
     3. Restricting signage on storefronts.
     4. Restricting the size and placement of window advertisements in liquor and convenience stores.

Capacity Building

Create a capacity building plan to continually engage strategy stakeholders. Some ideas include:

• Build support for this strategy from community members and law enforcement.
  • Focus on how alcohol advertising in public places can lead to alcohol-related problems.
• Provide regular face-to-face visits to promote the strategy and educate community leadership about strengthening alcohol advertising policies.
• Attend a Board of Supervisors and/or City Council meeting to discuss the strategy.
• Disseminate data briefs or reports related to the strategy to community leadership.
• Find communities in the county or in a neighboring county with strong policies in place regarding alcohol advertising restrictions in public places and share contact information or details about their policies with community leadership.

Once a policy has passed:

• Create a plan to educate the community about the policy.
• Create a plan that will ensure ongoing monitoring of use and enforcement of the policy.

Implementation Materials

Alcohol Advertising Restrictions
Suggestions for Limiting or Controlling Billboard Advertising

References

Hollingworth, W., Ebel, B.E., McCarty, C.A., Garrison, M.M., Christakis, D.A., & Rivara, F.P. (2006). Prevention of deaths from harmful drinking in the United States: the potential effects of tax increases and advertising bans on young drinkers. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 67(2), 3008-308. https://www.jsad.com/doi/10.15288/jsa.2006.67.300

Pasch, K. E., Komro, K. A., Perry, C. L., Hearst, M. O., & Farbakhsh, K. (2007). Outdoor alcohol advertising near schools: What does it advertise and how is it related to intentions and use of alcohol among young adolescents? J. Stud Alcohol Drugs, 68(4): 587-596. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2007.68.587

Tremblay V. J., & Okuyama, K. (2001). Advertising restrictions, competition, and alcohol consumption. Contemporary Economic Policy, 19(3), 313-321. https://doi.org/10.1093/cep/19.3.313