Thursday 25 September 2025
Alcohol Action Ireland (AAI), the national independent advocate to reduce alcohol harm, welcomes today’s first-stage introduction in Dáil Éireann of the Public Health (Alcohol) (Amendment) Bill 2025 by Social Democrats TD Pádraig Rice.
The Bill aims “to amend the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 by restricting the advertising of alcohol-free and low-alcohol products bearing any statement of any trade description or designation, or a display or other publication of a trademark, emblem, marketing image or logo, of an alcohol product with the aim or direct or indirect effect of promoting an alcohol product”.
The Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 (PHAA) has two main goals: to reduce alcohol consumption at a population level and to protect children from the predatory marketing practices of an industry whose product kills four people a day in Ireland. Alcohol marketing to children is known to be a key driver of both initiating alcohol use by children and increasing use if they have already started drinking. 50,000 children in Ireland start to drink every year and 37% of 15-24 year olds who drink have an alcohol use disorder.
AAI CEO Dr Sheila Gilheany said: “Today’s introduction of the Public Health (Alcohol) (Amendment) Bill 2025 is a welcome and long overdue development, which looks to close the loophole of advertising zero-alcohol products using the same master branding as their full-strength versions in areas deemed off-limits under the PHAA – such as near schools or playgrounds, or on public transport or on the field of play of a sporting event, where children are most likely to see those ads.
“The issue with zero-alcohol products is not the products themselves but with their branding, which is obviously nothing more than alcohol branding with a sometimes barely visible 0.0 tacked on. This was made crystal clear by a recent report by Brand Finance, a leading brand valuation consultancy, who said: ‘Alcohol-free products often carry the same brand names as their alcoholic counterparts – an intentional move that allows brands to subtly promote both products simultaneously. Similarly, alcohol-free products often maintain the same visual identity, where logos and packaging are nearly identical to that of beer brands’ traditional products – another tool strategically used to preserve brand awareness and recall”. They go on: “By leveraging its 0.0% product, the brand can maintain a strong presence where traditional beer promotion is not permitted.”
“This is coming straight from the horse’s mouth – zero-zero alcohol marketing is nothing more than a cynical ploy to circumvent restrictions in the PHAA. Alcohol is not a staple, it is not a necessary purchase, therefore a market must be created for it – and new drinkers must be recruited to replace the consumers alcohol kills. Children and young people are an important market for the alcohol industry in this regard.”
It is of note that in the outdoor space where most of the PHAA restrictions are in place, zero alcohol ads made up 25 percent of the spend of alcohol brand advertising in 2022, up 31 percent from 2021, even though these products only make up around 1 percent of the market. Meanwhile recent research from Australia indicates that when children see these products they think of alcohol.
Dr Gilheany continued: “It’s naïve to think that ‘0% alcohol’ is anything other than a smoke screen – it’s 100% alcohol marketing. The PHAA was designed to provide modest controls on the amount of alcohol marketing which children see. However, its intent is being subverted by the tagging on of a 0.0. What is the point of our legislation if it is simply being overridden by industry actors? The alcohol industry will try to use any perceived loophole to get around regulation on their product. The PHAA was designed to protect children and we need to start looking at zero-alcohol advertising through their eyes – the 0.0 makes 0.0 difference to them.
“As it stands, the current legislation is not working to protect children and young people from pervasive advertising and marketing of alcohol. This needs to change and today’s introduction of the Public Health (Alcohol) (Amendment) Bill 2025 is the first step on that process.”
ENDS
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