Department of Psychiatry, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, Western Cape.
S Afr Med J. 2012 May 28;102(7):602-4. doi: 10.7196/samj.5945.
Evidence from burden of disease and economic costing studies amply indicate that the public health burden from hazardous and harmful use of alcohol in South Africa warrants drastic action. Evidence that banning alcohol advertising is likely to be an effective intervention is reflected in WHO strategy documents on non-communicable diseases and harmful use of alcohol. Studies on young people furthermore support arguments refuting the claim that advertising only influences brand choice. Given the weakness of relying on industry self-regulation, the government is considering legislation to ban alcohol advertising, resulting in heated debate. Tobacco control and studies investigating the effect of alcohol advertising bans on consumption and alcohol-related deaths point to the effectiveness of such action - ideally supplemented by other policy interventions. Arguments against an advertising ban include possible communication sector job losses, but these are likely to have been exaggerated. Banning alcohol advertising will necessitate greater scrutiny of digital media, satellite television and merchandising to reduce the likelihood of subverting the ban.
疾病负担和经济成本研究的证据充分表明，在南非，有害和危险使用酒精给公共卫生带来的负担需要采取果断行动。世界卫生组织关于非传染性疾病和有害使用酒精的战略文件反映了禁止酒精广告可能是一种有效的干预措施。此外，针对年轻人的研究支持了这样一种观点，即广告只会影响品牌选择的说法是站不住脚的。考虑到依赖行业自律的弱点，政府正在考虑立法禁止酒精广告，这引发了激烈的辩论。烟草控制和研究调查了酒精广告禁令对消费和与酒精相关的死亡的影响，这表明这种行动是有效的——理想情况下，还可以辅以其他政策干预。反对广告禁令的论点包括广告业可能会出现失业，但这些论点可能被夸大了。禁止酒精广告将需要更严格地审查数字媒体、卫星电视和商品销售，以降低规避禁令的可能性。
