Call to Exclude Alcohol Advertising from Ad-supported Netflix Subscriptions

News

Oct 25, 2022

Recently, Netflix has decided to launch a new ad-supported tier. The company plans to exclude certain types of advertisements, including gambling ads from this new tier.

Over 50 signatories representing communities from around the world have sent a letter to Reed Hastings, the Chairman of Netflix, calling on the company to extend the exclusion to alcohol advertising in the new tier.

The letter pinpoints several facts regarding the harm caused by the alcohol industry. Globally, alcohol use is causally linked to over 200 disease and injury conditions and 3 million lives are lost each year from alcohol use.

When young people are exposed to alcohol marketing, they are more likely to start drinking alcohol at a younger age. They also go on to drink alcohol at risky levels later in life. Exposure to alcohol marketing also cues alcohol cravings and is known to trigger a desire to drink among people with high-risk alcohol use and for people recovering from alcohol addiction. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended comprehensive restrictions or bans of alcohol advertising to reduce the significant and far-reaching harm from alcohol use.

Considering the strong evidence showing the link between alcohol advertising and alcohol use and, subsequently, harm, the WFPHA has endorsed the letter to ask Netflix to take action to ensure that alcohol advertising isn’t a part of the platform.