Keywords
Alcohol
Sweets
Confectionery
Children
Ireland
Sweets
Confectionery
Children
Ireland
How to Cite
1.
Houghton F. No ordinary product: the problematic reality of alcohol-themed sweets and snacks. mir [Internet]. 1Feb.2025 [cited 15Jul.2025];31(123):45-0. Available from: https://interrev.com/mir/index.php/mir/article/view/240
Abstract
Alcohol is a significant Commercial Determinant of Health (CDoH) that has profoundly negative impacts on public health in Ireland and throughout the world. An issue of concern is the presence of alcohol-related products in developing, maintaining, and propagating alcogenic/ intoxigenic environments. This issue is particularly problematic when it potentially relates to children and adolescents. Although Ireland has introduced the Public Health (Alcohol) Act, 2018, de facto alcohol advertising is still widespread there. Alcohol signalling remains evident in the life spaces of children through alcohol-themed sweets, snack, and confectionery. Guinness and Baileys are alcohol brands with a wide range of associated foodstuffs. An equivalent to the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) for alcohol is needed to prevent such de facto marketing to children. In addition, alcohol-themed sweets and snacks should only be placed on display within the restricted alcohol sections of shops introduced as part of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act, 2018.
References
1. World Health Organization. Commercial determinants of non-communicable diseases in the WHO European Region. Geneva: WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2024.
2. World Health Organization. Global alcohol action plan 2022–2030. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2024.
3. GBD (2019) Risk factors collaborators. Global burden of 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet. 2020; 396: 1990–2019.
4. GBD (2019) Risk factors collaborators. Global burden and strength of evidence for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet. 2024; 403: 2162–2203.
5. Alcohol Action Ireland. Facts About Alcohol. https://alcoholireland.ie/facts-about-alcohol/
6. Mialon M, Larkin J, Patton C et al. The commercial determinants of health in Ireland: fueling an industrial epidemic at home and abroad. BJGP Open. 2024; 8(2): BJGPO.2024.0029. https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGPO.2024.0029
7. Maani N, Petticrew M, Galea S. The Commercial Determinants of Health. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022.
8. WHO. Global status report on alcohol and health. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, 2018.
9. Doyle A, Mongan D, Galvin B. Alcohol: availability, affordability, related harm, and policy in Ireland. HRB Overview Series 13. Dublin: Health Research Board, 2024. https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/40465
10. Public Health (Alcohol), Act, 2018. Irish Statute Book. https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2018/act/24/enacted/en/html
11. Houghton F, McInerney D. The Public Health (Alcohol) Act: Spatial issues and glaring gaps. Irish Geography. 2020; 53(2): 145-149.
12. Houghton F, McInerney D. Sponsorship, Advertising & Alcohol Control in Ireland: The importance of both premises and products in regulating intoxigenic environments. Irish Journal of Medical Science. 2019; 189: 1035–1037. DOI: 10.1007/s11845-019-02154-w
13. Critchlow N, Houghton F. The importance of continued and full implementation of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine. 2024;41(3):414-415. doi:10.1017/ipm.2023.24
14. Houghton F. (2023) Ireland's Public Health (Alcohol) Act, 2018: A lack of enforcement. Journal of Public Health (Oxford, England). 2023; 45(1): e130–e131. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdab397
15. Houghton F, Lombard J. An Examination of the Enforcement of Ireland’s Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018: A Paper Tiger. ADDICTA: Turkish Journal on Addictions. 2024;11(3): 324-330.
16. Critchlow N, Moodie C, Houghton F. (2023) Brand sharing between alcoholic drinks and non-alcoholic offerings: A challenge to Ireland’s restrictions on alcohol advertising. Irish Journal of Medical Science. 2023; 192: 1975–1977. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-022-03161-0.
17. Doyle A, Houghton F. Alcohol availability and accessibility around schools in Ireland: An examination of liquor licences proximity. Irish Journal of Medical Science. 2023; 193:1109-1110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-023-03514-3
18. Doyle A, Foley R, Houghton F. A spatial examination of alcohol availability and the level of disadvantage of schools in Ireland. BMC Public Health. 2024; 24: 795.
19. Petticrew M, Shemilt I, Lorenc T, Marteau TM, Melendez-Torres GJ, O'Mara-Eves A, Stautz K, Thomas J. Alcohol advertising and public health: systems perspectives versus narrow perspectives. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 2017; 71(3): 308–312. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2016-207644
20. Huckle T, Huakau J, Sweetsur P, Huisman O, Casswell S. Density of alcohol outlets and teenage drinking: living in an alcogenic environment is associated with higher consumption in a metropolitan setting. Addiction. 2008; 103(10): 1614–1621.
21. McCreanor T, Barnes HM, Kaiwai H, Borell S, Gregory A. Creating intoxigenic environments: marketing alcohol to young people in Aotearoa New Zealand. Social Science & Medicine (2008), 67(6): 938–946.
22. Mugavin J, Room R, Callinan S, MacLean S. How do people drink alcohol at a low-risk level?. Health Sociology Review. 2023; 32(3): 311–326.
23. Gavin A, Költő A, Lunney L, Maloney R, Walker L, Nic Gabhainn S, Kelly C. The Irish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Study 2022. Dublin: Department of Health & Galway: Health Promotion Research Centre, University of Galway, 2024.
24. Babor TF, Casswell S, Graham K et al. Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022.
25. GBD 2019 Cancer Risk Factors Collaborators. The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010-19: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet. 2022; 400(10352): 563–591.
26. WHO. No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health. Retrieved on 31/01/2025 from: https://www.who.int/europe/news-room/04-01-2023-no-level-of-alcohol-consumption-is-safe-for-our-health
27. U.S. Surgeon General. Alcohol and Cancer Risk 2025. The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory. Washington DC: Office of the U.S. Surgeon General. Retrieved on 31/01/2025 from: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/oash-alcohol-cancer-risk.pdf
28. European Commission. Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. Brussels: European Commission, 2022. Retrieved on 31/01/2025 from: https://health.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2022-02/eu_cancer-plan_en_0.pdf
29. Obe G, Ristow H. Mutagenic, cancerogenic and teratogenic effects of alcohol. Mutat Res. 1979; 65(4): 229-59. doi: 10.1016/0165-1110(79)90004-6.
30. Obe G, Anderson D. Genetic effects of ethanol. Mutat Res. 1987; 186(3): 177-200. doi: 10.1016/0165-1110(87)90003-0.
31. Shogren MD, Harsell C, Heitkamp T. Screening Women for At-Risk Alcohol Use: An Introduction to Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) in Women's Health. Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health. 2017; 62(6): 746–754.
32. WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Retrieved on 31/01/2025 from: https://fctc.who.int/
33. Zeigler D. USA: alcohol control movement follows FCTC lead
Tobacco Control. 2007; 16: 4.
34. Room R. International control of alcohol: alternative paths forward. Drug and alcohol review. 2006; 25(6): 581–595.
35. Houghton F. Easter Eggs & ‘Easter Eggs’: Alcohol Branded Chocolate Eggs & Intoxigenic Environments in Ireland. South-Eastern European Journal of Public Health. 2021; XVI. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11576/seejph-4395.
2. World Health Organization. Global alcohol action plan 2022–2030. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2024.
3. GBD (2019) Risk factors collaborators. Global burden of 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet. 2020; 396: 1990–2019.
4. GBD (2019) Risk factors collaborators. Global burden and strength of evidence for 88 risk factors in 204 countries and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet. 2024; 403: 2162–2203.
5. Alcohol Action Ireland. Facts About Alcohol. https://alcoholireland.ie/facts-about-alcohol/
6. Mialon M, Larkin J, Patton C et al. The commercial determinants of health in Ireland: fueling an industrial epidemic at home and abroad. BJGP Open. 2024; 8(2): BJGPO.2024.0029. https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGPO.2024.0029
7. Maani N, Petticrew M, Galea S. The Commercial Determinants of Health. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022.
8. WHO. Global status report on alcohol and health. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, 2018.
9. Doyle A, Mongan D, Galvin B. Alcohol: availability, affordability, related harm, and policy in Ireland. HRB Overview Series 13. Dublin: Health Research Board, 2024. https://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/40465
10. Public Health (Alcohol), Act, 2018. Irish Statute Book. https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2018/act/24/enacted/en/html
11. Houghton F, McInerney D. The Public Health (Alcohol) Act: Spatial issues and glaring gaps. Irish Geography. 2020; 53(2): 145-149.
12. Houghton F, McInerney D. Sponsorship, Advertising & Alcohol Control in Ireland: The importance of both premises and products in regulating intoxigenic environments. Irish Journal of Medical Science. 2019; 189: 1035–1037. DOI: 10.1007/s11845-019-02154-w
13. Critchlow N, Houghton F. The importance of continued and full implementation of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine. 2024;41(3):414-415. doi:10.1017/ipm.2023.24
14. Houghton F. (2023) Ireland's Public Health (Alcohol) Act, 2018: A lack of enforcement. Journal of Public Health (Oxford, England). 2023; 45(1): e130–e131. https://doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdab397
15. Houghton F, Lombard J. An Examination of the Enforcement of Ireland’s Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018: A Paper Tiger. ADDICTA: Turkish Journal on Addictions. 2024;11(3): 324-330.
16. Critchlow N, Moodie C, Houghton F. (2023) Brand sharing between alcoholic drinks and non-alcoholic offerings: A challenge to Ireland’s restrictions on alcohol advertising. Irish Journal of Medical Science. 2023; 192: 1975–1977. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-022-03161-0.
17. Doyle A, Houghton F. Alcohol availability and accessibility around schools in Ireland: An examination of liquor licences proximity. Irish Journal of Medical Science. 2023; 193:1109-1110. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11845-023-03514-3
18. Doyle A, Foley R, Houghton F. A spatial examination of alcohol availability and the level of disadvantage of schools in Ireland. BMC Public Health. 2024; 24: 795.
19. Petticrew M, Shemilt I, Lorenc T, Marteau TM, Melendez-Torres GJ, O'Mara-Eves A, Stautz K, Thomas J. Alcohol advertising and public health: systems perspectives versus narrow perspectives. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. 2017; 71(3): 308–312. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2016-207644
20. Huckle T, Huakau J, Sweetsur P, Huisman O, Casswell S. Density of alcohol outlets and teenage drinking: living in an alcogenic environment is associated with higher consumption in a metropolitan setting. Addiction. 2008; 103(10): 1614–1621.
21. McCreanor T, Barnes HM, Kaiwai H, Borell S, Gregory A. Creating intoxigenic environments: marketing alcohol to young people in Aotearoa New Zealand. Social Science & Medicine (2008), 67(6): 938–946.
22. Mugavin J, Room R, Callinan S, MacLean S. How do people drink alcohol at a low-risk level?. Health Sociology Review. 2023; 32(3): 311–326.
23. Gavin A, Költő A, Lunney L, Maloney R, Walker L, Nic Gabhainn S, Kelly C. The Irish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Study 2022. Dublin: Department of Health & Galway: Health Promotion Research Centre, University of Galway, 2024.
24. Babor TF, Casswell S, Graham K et al. Alcohol: No Ordinary Commodity. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2022.
25. GBD 2019 Cancer Risk Factors Collaborators. The global burden of cancer attributable to risk factors, 2010-19: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. Lancet. 2022; 400(10352): 563–591.
26. WHO. No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health. Retrieved on 31/01/2025 from: https://www.who.int/europe/news-room/04-01-2023-no-level-of-alcohol-consumption-is-safe-for-our-health
27. U.S. Surgeon General. Alcohol and Cancer Risk 2025. The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory. Washington DC: Office of the U.S. Surgeon General. Retrieved on 31/01/2025 from: https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/oash-alcohol-cancer-risk.pdf
28. European Commission. Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan. Brussels: European Commission, 2022. Retrieved on 31/01/2025 from: https://health.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2022-02/eu_cancer-plan_en_0.pdf
29. Obe G, Ristow H. Mutagenic, cancerogenic and teratogenic effects of alcohol. Mutat Res. 1979; 65(4): 229-59. doi: 10.1016/0165-1110(79)90004-6.
30. Obe G, Anderson D. Genetic effects of ethanol. Mutat Res. 1987; 186(3): 177-200. doi: 10.1016/0165-1110(87)90003-0.
31. Shogren MD, Harsell C, Heitkamp T. Screening Women for At-Risk Alcohol Use: An Introduction to Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) in Women's Health. Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health. 2017; 62(6): 746–754.
32. WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. Retrieved on 31/01/2025 from: https://fctc.who.int/
33. Zeigler D. USA: alcohol control movement follows FCTC lead
Tobacco Control. 2007; 16: 4.
34. Room R. International control of alcohol: alternative paths forward. Drug and alcohol review. 2006; 25(6): 581–595.
35. Houghton F. Easter Eggs & ‘Easter Eggs’: Alcohol Branded Chocolate Eggs & Intoxigenic Environments in Ireland. South-Eastern European Journal of Public Health. 2021; XVI. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11576/seejph-4395.