Calls for alcohol sponsorship ban in sports after coverage of Calcutta Cup victory saw drink references every 12 seconds
The Scottish Government is being urged to ban alcohol sponsorship in sport, as a new study found those watching rugby's Calcutta Cup clash could have seen almost 1,000 references to alcohol.
Researchers at the University of Stirling found that 961 separate references were seen to alcohol during the game, in which Scotland defeated England 11-6 at Twickenham – one every 12 seconds.
The Ireland v Wales game in thesixnationsmeanwhilecontained 754 references to drink, one every 15 seconds, according to the research, which looked at the prevalence of alcohol advertising in the Guinness Six Nations rugby championship.
Elinor Jayne, director of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (SHAAP), argued it was "totally incongruous" to have a" health harming product"such as alcohol linked with sports.and she insisted that a ban on sports sponsorship by drinks companies "would be a major step towards a fairer, healthier Scotland".
Previous research has shown that children exposed to alcohol advertising are more likely to start drinking at a younger age, and drink more heavily in later life.
But the UK currently has no legislative restrictions on alcohol firms sponsoring sporting teams or events, with marketing of drinks self-regulated by the industry.
While the self-regulation code states that "drinks companies must ensure there is a recognisable commitment to promoting responsible drinking", the Stirling University research found only 3.5 percent of references to the alcohol sponsor contained such a message in the Ireland v Scotland clash - with this falling to 0.4 per cent of references when scotland played england.
Ireland, however, is set to bring in restrictions on alcohol marketing in sport from November 12 2021 – including a ban on drink advertisements in or on a sports area during a sporting event.
As the research – carried out for SHAAP together with the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS) and Alcohol Action Ireland – was published, there were calls for Scottish ministers to act.
Ms Jayne said: "As a society we are used to alcohol companies sponsoring sports, yet it is totally incongruous to have this intrinsically health-harming product associated with a healthy activity.”