Waiving the rules

Life is to be made easier for alcohol advertisers, if the Independent Television Commission has its way

According to the Institute of Alcohol Studies, proposed changes to the Codes of Advertising Standards and Practice will remove restrictions which have sought to prevent various exaggerated claims being made. Out goes the rule which says that it must not be "implied that the successful outcome of a social occasion is dependent on the consumption of alcohol".

In response to this the IAS says that in view of the "frequency with which advertisements now imply that alcohol consumption will transform social occasions from being stuffy and boring to being wild and exiting, there is a better case for giving this rule added prominence rather than dropping it".

Another rule which is regarded as redundant is that which says:

"Alcoholic drinks must not be seen to be consumed in a working environment unless it is clearly established that the working day has ended."

The IAS says that, "prompted by concerns over productivity as well as a number of disastrous accidents," the trend of recent years has been to discourage drinking during working hours and to remove alcohol from work environments, in a substantial number of which it is an offence to consume or to be under the influence of alcohol during working hours. It is claimed that dropping this rule would clearly be a retrograde step for which it is difficult to see any justification at all.

Also heading for the scrap heap is the prohibition on humour, acceptable in a general sense, being used "so as to circumvent the intention of these rules". It could be argued that this rule should be dropped on grounds of superfluity - the rules must be complied with and it is therefore otiose to state that they should not be circumvented by the use of humour or any other device. However, the IAS says that, in this case, "why was it thought necessary to introduce this rule in the first place? Our concern is that its removal will facilitate non-compliance with the other rules by giving greater scope to the cynical 'no one could possibly think that was meant seriously' defence."

As no other explanation is given, the IAS argues that it is a reasonable inference that the alcohol and advertising industries now wish the freedom to imply that the successful outcomes of social occasions are dependent on the consumption of alcohol; that drinking is appropriate during the working day, and that the industries should not be limited in their use of humour as a way of circumventing the other rules. "If this is the thinking behind the changes, it is in our view entirely self-serving and against the public interest," said an IAS spokesman.

In its response to the proposals the IAS highlights the dangers the original rules were designed to help minimise: "Alcohol abuse is a major and still growing problem in all the countries of the UK. There are particular concerns about the degree to which youth culture is awash with alcohol, the growing problem of youth binge drinking and the ways in which alcohol is marketed to the young."

As part of the exercise in responding to the intention to scrap these rules, the IAS decided to test the reactions of a class of Year 13s at a local comprehensive school. Virtually all the class saw the proposed changes as a way of weakening the code which, it was universally agreed, is not complied with in any case. Numerous current advertisements were identified spontaneously which, in the view of the young people, do associate alcohol with social and sexual success, attractiveness and masculinity or which have a particular appeal to children. Advertisements for Baileys, Boddingtons, and pre-mixed spirits drinks were immediately identified as breaching the existing code.

"We make no claims for the scientific standing of this exercise," says the IAS, "but it is nevertheless of some interest. There is no reason to think that the reactions of this class were in any way unusual."

The Independent Television Commission proposals to relax the rules on alcohol advertising come at a time when Scotland has just published a national strategy against alcohol problems, prompted by those very concerns highlighted by the students' comments, and a similar strategy is being prepared for England and Wales. The Scottish Plan for Action on Alcohol Problems says:

"Alcohol advertising was.raised frequently in the public consultation, with many people identifying effects of advertising on drinking cultures and pointing to perceived gaps in controls. Limits on advertising were suggested through, for example, the use of an independent regulator; the replacement of voluntary controls with statutory measures; a watershed for alcohol advertising; a ban or more controls on advertising/ sponsorship in sport."

The ITC should perhaps take a wider view and consider the public good rather than the convenience of advertisers.