Each year, 10 million people in Australia are harmed by alcohol, with one person dying every 90 minutes and one person being hospitalised every three and a half minutes. Deaths from alcohol-related injuries have more than doubled between 2010 and 2020 and continue to be one of Australia’s public health challenges.
Online technologies play an important role in our lives, and digital environments must be safe to enable ongoing health and well-being. Yet, alcohol companies consistently target people with alcohol advertisements when they are online, intending to increase profits. A recent report released by the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) Buy now: the link between alcohol advertising, online sales and rapid delivery found that alcohol advertisements and the online sale and delivery of alcohol are now inextricably linked, contributing to the significantly expanding availability of and access to alcohol in Australia.
Key findings
- Of the total alcohol advertisements captured the majority (83.8%) contained a button and over a third (39.2%) directly linked to alcohol sale through the button. For example, advertisements directed people to online stores with a catalogue-style list of alcoholic products for sale, or directly to a product preview, with ‘add to cart’ prompts, with these pages often containing additional promotions encouraging alcohol sale.
- The use of this form of advertising was highest for alcohol retailers, with 87% of alcohol retailer advertisements using a button that directs people to platforms where alcohol is sold.
- Nine alcohol retailers that sell alcohol through rapid delivery into homes (within 2 hours) were responsible for 36% of all advertisements with a button linking to alcohol sale.
These findings highlight the fundamental link between alcohol advertisements on social media and the online sale and delivery of alcohol, with the line between advertising and retail now blurred. Large alcohol retailers and multinational corporations are responsible for much of this social media advertising, which has become a virtual storefront for alcohol sales. Current regulations for how alcohol is advertised and sold were developed for brick-and-mortar stores and venues. Many jurisdictions are now playing catch-up and considering what changes are required to keep up with an ever-evolving digital world.
Alcohol advertisements and the sale and delivery of alcohol are now inextricably linked, contributing to the significantly expanding availability of alcohol in Australia.
What next?
To encourage health and wellbeing, online environments must implement government-led standards to provide a safer online engagement. Alcohol laws and regulations must be updated. Policymakers should consider implementing measures addressing how alcohol companies advertise through digital platforms when developing strategies to address alcohol-related harms and injury. Reforms must ensure harm minimisation protections are implemented in the digital environment.
Read the FARE report here.