Alcohol marketing

Alcohol marketing covers all the ways alcohol companies encourage us to buy their products.

This includes adverts on billboards and public transport, on TV and online, the way a product looks, where it is positioned in a shop, how much it costs, and whether it’s in a sale or part of a promotion. Alcohol is also marketed through sponsorship of sports or events.

What effect does alcohol marketing have?

Alcohol marketing is how companies persuade us to buy their products. Alcohol companies spend millions of pounds each year to make us think positively about alcohol and encourage us to drink more. If it didn’t work, they wouldn’t do it! It encourages positive attitudes towards alcohol, changes individual behaviours and reinforces the idea that drinking alcohol is normal and even desirable.

Whether it’s through sponsorship of their favourite sports teams, displays in shops and ads on billboards and bus stops, people are frequently exposed to alcohol marketing and advertising in their daily life. This includes those who are most vulnerable to its effects, such as children, young people, and people with, or in recovery from, an alcohol problem.

Exposure to alcohol marketing causes young people to start drinking earlier, to drink more if they are already drinking, and to drink at heavy or problematic levels. Children and young people have a right to a childhood free from alcohol marketing – this is why we are campaigning with over 60 other organisations for a childhood free from alcohol marketing.

Public Health Scotland have concluded that introducing restrictions on alcohol advertising and marketing is an effective and cost-effective way of reducing how much we drink, and in turn improving the health of people living in Scotland.

Their 2025 report states that “alcohol marketing and advertising is pervasive and persuasive, and frequent exposure to it drives alcohol consumption and related harms, including among children and young people.”

What is Alcohol Focus Scotland campaigning for?

Recovery quote

The Alcohol Marketing Expert Network - a group of international experts in alcohol marketing research, law and public health policy – have recommended that the Scottish Government use its significant power to legislate to protect people from alcohol marketing, including by restricting:

People want change: there is support for taking action to restrict marketing among the general public, people in recovery and children and young people.

Experience from other countries

Many other countries in Europe have already taken action to restrict marketing, leaving Scotland behind the curve. The Public Health Scotland Rapid Review of Evidence about Alcohol Marketing lists numerous examples of alcohol marketing restrictions currently in place in other countries.

One such example is Ireland, which has introduced a range of marketing restrictions as part of a broad package of prevention policies that have successfully reduced alcohol consumption.

In the video below, Shelia Gilheany, CEO of Alcohol Action Ireland discusses the restrictions introduced in Ireland, as well as learning for countries like Scotland who are thinking about introducing their own restrictions.

Support our campaign for childhood free from alcohol marketing!

Support our campaign to protect children and young people from alcohol marketing.

Voice your support for alcohol marketing restrictions with your MSP, using the Write to Them website.

Check out other ways to Take Action

Voices of Lived Experience

We’ve worked with many different groups across Scotland, to understand their lived experiences of how they are impacted by alcohol marketing, check out the pages below for more information!