Despite evidence that children are exposed to digital alcohol marketing, significant gaps remain in understanding the scale and nature of that exposure.
A report prepared by the Institute of Public Health (IPH) for the Department of Health’s Online Health Taskforce highlights limitations in the evidence available, the absence of comprehensive monitoring systems, and a lack of a single body responsible for assessing children’s exposure and coordinating actions.
The report examined children’s engagement with the digital marketing of a range of health-harming products, including tobacco, e-cigarettes, alcohol, gambling, sunbeds, and high-fat, salt and sugar (HFSS) foods and drinks. Here, we focus on its findings relating to alcohol marketing.
Children’s digital lives
Children in Ireland engage with digital environments from an early age, with widespread access to smartphones, social media, and online platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Snapchat.
According to the report, this creates exposure to marketing for a range of health-harming products, including alcohol.
Unlike traditional advertising, digital marketing can be difficult to distinguish from other online content. It can appear through advertisements, influencer endorsements, embedded promotions, interactive features, and user-generated content.
The report notes that digital marketing is often highly personalised. Online platforms collect and analyse user data to deliver targeted content, potentially increasing both the frequency and relevance of marketing exposure.
Evidence gaps
While internet access among children is almost universal and screen time continues to increase, the report highlights a lack of systematic evidence on the scale and type of digital marketing encountered by children.
Measuring exposure is challenging. Many children use social media below official age limits, often with limited parental oversight.
Existing evidence is largely based on surveys that rely on children recalling what they have seen online.
As a result, understanding exactly how, when, and how often children encounter digital marketing remains difficult.
Alcohol marketing online
The report identifies alcohol marketing as an area where evidence points to substantial levels of exposure among young people.
Although the age at which young people first consume alcohol has increased, the report notes that the majority of adolescents aged 17 years and over drink alcohol.
Studies reviewed for the report found high levels of exposure to digital alcohol marketing, with many young people encouraged to engage directly with alcohol brands online.
The available evidence also indicates an association between greater exposure to alcohol marketing and an increased likelihood of drinking, intentions to drink, and behaviours such as binge drinking.
Monitoring and coordination
It highlights limitations in existing monitoring and identifies a need for more information on children’s online experiences.
While a range of legislative, regulatory, and policy measures address aspects of online safety and alcohol marketing, the report notes there is no single body responsible for monitoring children’s exposure to digital marketing or coordinating actions.
To strengthen the evidence base, the report recommends gathering more information on children’s exposure to online alcohol marketing through existing national surveys.
It also recommends exploring children’s experiences of online alcohol sales and marketing, developing a business case for an integrated monitoring system, and improving mechanisms for testing age-verification systems online.
Looking ahead
The report outlines a number of short-, medium-, and long-term options relating to online alcohol marketing.
Short-term measures focus largely on research, data collection, and monitoring. Medium-term actions include assessing the impact of existing alcohol legislation and considering how children’s online exposure to alcohol marketing might be monitored within future drug and alcohol strategies.
Longer-term options include the introduction of regulations to limit digital alcohol marketing and sponsorship associated with sporting events.
Overall, the report highlights the challenges involved in understanding children’s exposure to alcohol marketing in increasingly complex digital environments.
While evidence suggests that exposure occurs and may influence behaviour, the report concludes that significant gaps remain in monitoring, measurement, and research.
