Research shows that children recognise alcohol branding from age two and link alcohol with adult life by age four – and alcohol companies know and exploit that with insidious practices that are difficult for parents to notice.
In this opinion column, concerned mother and child rights and public health advocate Linda de Keyser combines that evidence with lived experience of alcohol marketing at her son’s football matches to make a compelling case for bans of alcohol advertising and sponsorship.
With Belgium’s proposed advertising rules falling short of what child rights require, and the FIFA World Cup bringing alcohol promotion to an estimated 1.7 billion children worldwide, Linda calls for a public reckoning that matches the urgency of the moment.
