Online ads for high-alcohol, sweet drinks target youth

Online advertising for sugary, high-alcohol drinks is a veritable “wild west,” and explicitly targets minors, the Institut national de santé publique du Québec says.

The ads are a shameless promotion of “dangerous products” aimed at minors — and even children — by using stuffed toys, cartoon characters and small animals riding tricycles, INSPQ researcher Manon Niquette told a parliamentary committee on Wednesday.

Niquette is a co-author of an INSPQ study conducted last March that examined the role the products play in binge drinking in the province. The study was conducted a few weeks after the death of 14-year-old Athena Gervais, who had been drinking the highalcohol content drink FCKD UP before her body was found behind the school she attended in Laval. A 568-millilitre can with an alcohol content of 11.9 per cent sold for $4 in dépanneurs. The drink’s manufacturer has since pulled the products from shelves.

“After the death of Athena Gervais, an ad was posted that said ‘And you? How are you celebrating during spring break?’ ” Niquette said. “Spring break is part of a vocabulary that only belongs to high school students. So (this ad) is speaking explicitly to minors.”

Dr. Réal Morin, the INSPQ vicechairman of scientific affairs, noted that online advertising is not subject to CRTC regulations, which are confined to television and radio activity. He recommended to the committee that online publicity be regulated at the national level, that a minimum price be established for the beverages and that their sale be banned from grocery and convenience stores if their alcohol content exceeds seven per cent.

Presse Canadienne