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Alcohol advertising puts people at risk of relapse say members of recovery community - New Report

People with lived experience of alcohol harm have called for a new approach to alcohol advertising and marketing, saying that its ubiquity acts as a potential trigger that puts them at risk of relapse.

In a new report published by Alcohol Focus Scotland at the end of Recovery Month 2026, outdoor alcohol advertising was consistently identified by participants as one of the most intrusive forms of alcohol promotion. Many described how alcohol advertising saturates public spaces - from bus stops and billboards to shopfronts - making it virtually impossible to avoid.

This constant exposure was described as a powerful and often distressing trigger that could undermine progress and increase the risk of relapse.

That description echoes the findings of a recently published landmark review of alcohol marketing by Public Health Scotland which found that alcohol marketing was ‘pervasive and persuasive’ and that frequent exposure ‘drives alcohol consumption and related harms’ including among children and young people.

The charity spoke to 48 people at various stages of recovery from an alcohol problem across four alcohol support services, seeking their views on possible alternative approaches.

There was strong support for a range of actions to restrict alcohol marketing across different settings, including pursuing local restrictions and changes to shop displays.

Participants described the retail environment as one of the most difficult spaces to navigate when trying to reduce or stop drinking. Supermarkets and local shops were widely seen as packed with alcohol promotion, from end-of-aisle displays and signage at the entrance, to offers and branding at the checkout. These were not viewed as neutral design choices but as deliberate strategies to drive impulse purchases.

Discussing the report’s findings, Carolyn Lochhead, Chief Executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said:

“The people we spoke to told us that alcohol adverts make it harder to stop drinking, or to maintain their recovery. Their voices matter, and deserve to be heard. That’s why we’ve published this report to mark Recovery Month. We’re grateful to everyone who spoke to us for this report, and we want to see local and national action in response to their concerns”.  

Steph McCutcheon, who is in recovery from an alcohol problem, said:

“Alcohol marketing is not harmless. It can trigger cravings, reopen painful memories and undermine recovery at any stage.

“Alcohol advertising is everywhere: in shops, on billboards, across social media, at sporting events and on TV. It presents alcohol as an ordinary and necessary part of everyday life while rarely acknowledging the devastation it can cause to individuals, families and entire communities.

“If alcohol marketing can still affect someone after more than 20 years in recovery, we must recognise how damaging it can be for a person in their first days, weeks, months or years. People should be able to walk through their community, shop for food, attend an event or enjoy sport without being surrounded by messages encouraging them to drink.”