A ban on alcohol advertising on television before 9pm will come into force in Ireland in 2025, the Department of Health has confirmed.
The ban. which is scheduled to take place from 10 January 2025 will mean that no alcoholic products will be advertised on Irish televisions between 3am and 9pm, according to local reports. The decision, will also reportedly involve advertising also being banned on Irish radio on weekdays between 3pm and 10pm the following morning.
The new measures are being implemented to work around the watershed are being brought in on a phased basis and are part of plans introduced in the Public Health Act 2018 and follows bans on alcohol advertising during sporting events in Ireland, a move which came into effect in 2021 and had been compared to France’s Loi Evin.
Speaking about the ban, a Department spokesperson said: “The evidence is consistent that the advertising of alcohol products increases the likelihood that young people will start to drink alcohol or, if they are already drinking, to drink more.”
Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI) CEO Dr Sheila Gilheany explained to reporters that the measures to work to these timings are a crucial step to reducing alcohol consumption and added: “Right now, Diageo is the number four broadcast advertiser to children, so having a threshold before which you wouldn’t see alcohol advertisements is actually a really important thing in trying to reduce the exposure of children to alcohol, as well as the broader population as well.”
In 2021, a survey launched by AAI and Ireland, titled Thinks, discovered that 70% of Irish people supported stopping alcohol adverts from being shown on TV before 9pm.
The survey findings also revealed that, additionally, a further 68% supported restrictions to limit the advertising children become exposed to, while 66% backed stopping alcohol advertising from being streamed on social media channels.
As a further move, Ireland will also be the first country to introduce warning labels on its alcoholic products, detailing calorie content and health risks – a move that wine producers in Europe are railing against and calling “absurd”.
The Department for Health has been reached out to for further comment on the bans and whether there will be any further plans to roll the ban out across Britain in the future. Additionally, the drinks business has reached out to Diageo regarding the AAI’s reports that the drinks giant’s alcohol advertising on television has been reaching child audiences, but Diageo has so far stayed silent on the claims.