Open AccessChildren and adolescent exposure to alcohol advertising during Bathurst 1000
Author(s) -
Davoren Sondra L.,
Sinclair Craig A.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.946
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1753-6405
pISSN - 1326-0200
DOI - 10.1111/j.1753-6405.2012.00830.x
Subject(s) - medicine , alcohol advertising , alcohol , environmental health , suicide prevention , poison control , chemistry , biochemistry
Ordinarily, alcohol advertising on free-to-air television may be shown only during standard M (Mature), MA (Mature Audience) and AV (Adult Violence) classification periods, 8:30 pm until 5 am. An exemption in the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice (‘the CTICP exemption’) overrides this restriction and permits alcohol advertisements during live sports broadcasts between 5 am and 8:30 pm on weekends and public holidays. An analysis of alcohol advertising expenditure in Australia found that almost half (46%) the alcohol advertisements were shown on weekends and public holidays. Of those advertisements, 44% were shown outside the M, MA and AV classification periods during live sports broadcasts − reflecting the impact of the CTICP exemption. Studies suggest that under-age television viewers (aged 13-17) are equally likely to be exposed to alcohol television advertisements as young adults (aged 18-24), and that the overall level of exposure of underage television viewers to alcohol advertising is extremely high. In 2005, six of the top 50 rating programs for young people aged 13-17 and three of the top 20 rating programs for children aged 5-12, were sporting events. The popularity of sport in Australia − particularly with children − together with alcohol sponsorship of major sporting events and the CTICP exemption, suggests that large numbers of children and young people are being exposed to alcohol marketing at times when ordinarily they would be protected. To quantify the amount of alcohol advertising potentially seen by under-age viewers, we collected data on the amount of in-break alcohol advertising during the 2008 broadcast of the Bathurst V8 car race and analysed footage of the race to measure the time on screen of alcohol sponsorship (e.g. alcohol branding on track signage and sponsored race cars). We found that 117,000 people aged 5-17 watched the Bathurst telecast, which is high by Australian standards (an episode of Playschool attracts around 119,000 viewers). In-break alcohol Letters