in addressing alcohol issues in Trinidad and Tobago. This in response to your Editorial of. August 22nd. 2014. I take th
Advertising and youth alcohol consumption.
Please allow me an opportunity to highlight some of the evidence based research that supports The Honourable Minister of Health's recommendation of focusing on advertising in addressing alcohol issues in Trinidad and Tobago. This in response to your Editorial of August 22nd. 2014. I take the opportunity to focus primarily on our youth. First, we need to acknowledge that alcohol represents a problem with our young people both locally and regionally. The Global Student Health survey reports that in studies between 2003 and 2010, 44% of females and 47% of males aged 13-15 years in the English speaking Caribbean reported using alcohol in the past 30 days. For T&T the proportions were 42% and 40% respectively. More distressing was the report that 23% of females and 27% of males, again aged 13-15 years, reported drinking so much alcohol that they staggered, vomited, or developed slurred speech at least once in their life. For T&T the proportions were 22% and 25%. Secondly we need to acknowledge that alcohol advertising influences our young people. Jones & Magee (2011) writing in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism studied the effects of exposure to alcohol advertising and alcohol consumption among Australian adolescents. They concluded that that exposure to alcohol advertisements among Australian adolescents is strongly associated with drinking patterns. Similarly, Snyder (2006) in studying the US market found that youth who saw more alcohol advertisements on average drank more. Each additional advertisement seen increased the number of drinks consumed by 1% in the last month. Additionally, youth in markets with greater alcohol advertising expenditures drank more, each additional dollar spent per capita raised the number of
drinks consumed by 3% in the last month. This was published in Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. Our local research also suggests a link between the availability of alcohol and other substances and use and abuse during stressful times (Maharaj RG: West Indian Medical Journal 2005), that 28% of UWI students have been identified as regular alcohol users (Dhanookdhary: West Indian Medical Journal 2010) and the uncomfortable fact that young people do not recognize the impact of alcohol advertising on their consumption (Mohammed S: West Indian Medical Journal 2012). The WHO has published its Best Buys with respect to alcohol. A Best Buy is an intervention that is not only highly cost-effective but also cheap, feasible and culturally acceptable to implement. Best Buys for alcoholic beverages include increasing excise taxes (already done); regulating availability (not done in T&T), including minimum legal purchase age Done), restrictions on outlet density and on time of sale, and, where appropriate, governmental monopoly of retail sales (not done); restricting exposure to marketing through effective marketing regulations or comprehensive advertising bans (not done); drink-driving countermeasures including random breath testing, sobriety check points and blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limits for drivers at 0.5 g/l, with reduced limits or zero tolerance for young drivers (Partially done in T&T); treatment of alcohol use disorders and brief interventions for hazardous and harmful drinking (Available in T&T). We can see from this list that many of these Best Buys are already covered or are available in the T&T and regional legislation, however only the Bahamas in the English speaking Caribbean has any advertising and marketing control on alcohol. Instead of getting bogged down in longstanding new policy change, new legislation and new laws, if we are really interested in making a difference, let us focus on one element which is lacking in our
current landscape, namely marketing and advertising of alcohol. I am tired of hearing, and cringing, when a local radio station announces during 'freshers' week for our tertiary education students, many living away from home for the first time and celebrating their new freedom, 'shot after shot after shot' and providing discounts for what is effectively a drug of addiction at a 'world famous' location. A recent national household (HH) survey reported that 50% of HH would support a complete ban on alcohol advertisement, 65% would support a complete ban at sporting and cultural events and 70% would support restricting alcohol advertisements (Maharaj et al. Unpublished data 2013). I believe that addressing the public health implications of alcohol use and the effects of advertising and marketing in our young and impressionable population and providing a safe national and regional environment will provide benefits to all our citizens, and importantly positively impact on our youth.
