Limiting the Impact of Alcohol Advertising on Women’s Health: A Call to Action from ASPQ

2023-12-07 10:00:00

Pastel colors, slender cans, references to Barbie, lemonade, yoga, slimming or maternal devotion… Alcohol manufacturers and sellers spend fortunes to encourage women to drink by bombarding them with products and of stereotypical messages – which invade the mind at the same time as the streets, public transport and influencer publications.

Posted at 5:00 a.m.

This is the conclusion of a field survey carried out this year and presented for the first time during the Annual Public Health Days on November 29.

The Association for Public Health of Quebec (ASPQ) – which devoted several months to its investigation – wants the government to radically restrict this promotional hype in the collective space. As do four other Canadian provinces, New York City, France and Ireland, she says.

According to the Association, the messages conveyed lead many women – especially younger ones – to drink a lot of alcohol, without realizing the impact on their health, and to take risks when they are expecting a baby.

“Despite everything, even the Société des alcools (SAQ) targets them with flashy pink ads, which cover the entire facades of its branches,” laments lawyer Marianne Dessureault, head of legal affairs at the ‘ASPQ.

With equal ingestion, adds her colleague Gabrielle Desjardins, women are more at risk than men of developing various alcohol-related diseases, which they metabolize less well.

However, the industry is flooding the market with sweet and fruity drinks, which reduce the taste of alcohol, denounces Me Dessureault. “It makes them more attractive to young girls, who drink them faster. »

Nearly one in five Quebecers reported episodes of alcohol abuse in 2022, twice as many as in 2000-2001, and more than before the pandemic, reveal the most recent data from Statistics Canada.

Combining alcohol and lifestyle

On the contrary, the industry is trying to associate alcoholic beverages “for women” with health, denounces Me Dessureault, with supporting evidence.

Examples of drinks or messages targeting women listed by the ASPQ

PHOTO TAKEN FROM A SURVEY TO BE PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION FOR PUBLIC HEALTH OF QUEBEC

Alcoholic drinks aimed at women are typically dressed in bright or pastel colors.

PHOTO TAKEN FROM A SURVEY TO BE PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION FOR PUBLIC HEALTH OF QUEBEC

Alcohol manufacturers attempt to associate their products with fitness and slimness, once more by adopting colors considered “feminine.”

PHOTO TAKEN FROM A SURVEY TO BE PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION FOR PUBLIC HEALTH OF QUEBEC

These messages promote products whose colors, design, name or slogan (“pink-tastic”) seem chosen to attract young women and adolescent girls.

PHOTO TAKEN FROM A SURVEY TO BE PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION FOR PUBLIC HEALTH OF QUEBEC

Even the Société des alcools du Québec, a state-owned company, uses the facades of its branches – like this one, photographed in Magog last September – to boost alcohol sales to women.

PHOTO TAKEN FROM A SURVEY TO BE PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION FOR PUBLIC HEALTH OF QUEBEC

The industry is also working with young influencers to associate alcohol with a healthy lifestyle, nature and the environment, yoga and partying. The one on the right wrote: “When I drink […] I can’t help but think of the epic OD Bali! We were on big sangria there at our parties[s]. »

PHOTO TAKEN FROM A SURVEY TO BE PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION FOR PUBLIC HEALTH OF QUEBEC

Some publications that feature female friendship. The first advises: “For your girls’ weekends, do like Léane and count on hard seltzer […] to refresh yourself. » “Grab your bestie” says the one at the top right, while the one at the bottom evokes “sorority”.

PHOTO TAKEN FROM A SURVEY TO BE PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION FOR PUBLIC HEALTH OF QUEBEC

A distillery associates its gin with maternal love, with the hashtags #Mother’s Day #Special Moment #Relaxation #Pleasure.

PHOTO TAKEN FROM A SURVEY TO BE PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION FOR PUBLIC HEALTH OF QUEBEC

The dubious advertisement for a beer that presents itself as “cold, but easy to approach” was found on the side of a Société de transport de Laval bus and on bus shelters in Montreal last August.

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Ads feature happy sportswomen or influencers. Who combine sangria and yoga or take photos outdoors and profess their love of the environment – ​​with a glass of white wine in hand.

Manufacturers have also launched reduced-calorie alcoholic drinks, called “Svelte” or “Shape”, shown on dumbbells or in front of a tennis racket.

“Other messages present alcohol as an essential element of female socialization or of accomplishment and self-confidence,” adds Me Dessureault.

A brewer, on the other hand, posted an announcement on buses and bus shelters saying: “Cold, but easy to approach”…

70 %

Proportion of Quebecers agree to stop alcohol that can be seen by children in public spaces

ASPQ-Léger web survey carried out among 1008 adults in mid-November

“Are you an alcoholic or pregnant?” »

These campaigns increase the use of alcohol, believes Me Dessureault. “They can change the quantities, frequency and contexts in which consumers decide to drink. The industry doesn’t spend millions for nothing. »

In the long run, the wave shapes perceptions and behaviors. “Everyone sees these announcements on their journey. This cultural rooting influences the social norm. A person who prefers not to drink is often asked, “Are you pregnant?” or “Are you an alcoholic?” It takes a “good reason”, which exerts pressure. »

In Quebec, more than one in five women still drink alcohol following learning that they are pregnant, compared to one in ten in Canada, according to the latest available statistics⁠1.

Even ingested in moderation, alcohol is associated with around sixty different diseases, regardless of gender, according to an article published in June in the journal Nature Medicine.

In January, the Canadian Center on Substance Use and Addiction tightened its recommendations, explaining that there is “no safe threshold for alcohol consumption.”

Reducing exposure to would save millions of dollars in healthcare costs, argues Me Dessureault, pointing out that the SAQ still reports to the Minister of Finance rather than the Minister of Health, like the Société québécoise du cannabis. “It seems that the main mission of the SAQ is to make money, with its point cards, its discounts and its targeted emails…”

We are not saying that alcohol is demonic and must cease to exist. But we must be able to make informed choices, and there is nothing less informed than behavior influenced by .

Marianne Dessureault, head of legal affairs at the ASPQ

Questioned on this subject, a spokesperson for the SAQ wrote that the organization respects “recommendations regarding responsible consumption and sales ethics” and “always carefully monitors” their evolution.

The Quebec Brewers Association responded that its members promote responsible consumption in their marketing and labeling, that they respect marketing laws and would adjust without delay if the rules change.

1. “Pregnancy, alcohol and social representations among women”, ASPQ, June 2022

How does alcohol harm women’s health?

According to the World Health Organization, one in four cases of breast cancer is attributable to alcohol (which also causes other cancers in both sexes). Women who drink two glasses of alcohol a day are four times more likely to develop liver damage than men. For the same quantity, women’s motor coordination and information processing capacity are more impaired. Women are more inclined to drink to numb a negative emotion, which is all the more worrying since they are twice as prone to anxiety or depressive disorders. Women progress more quickly toward developing an alcohol use disorder. Women are prescribed more sedatives, which increase the harmful effects of alcohol, reducing its elimination.

Source : The impacts of alcohol consumption on Quebec womenASPQ, August 2023

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