Corporate Sponsorship May Lead to Increased Alcohol Consumption

In the United States, it is difficult to separate sports and alcohol in the spectator's experience. The sound of "ice cold beer" being shouted over the thwack of the baseball bat seems like as much a part of the game as the 7th inning stretch. Americans go to games at Busch Stadium and Coors Field, and a good football match-up always starts with a long tailgating party, right?

Maybe not. Some countries are not so comfortable with the alcohol-sports connection. France, Norway and Turkey have all taken measures to divorce sports and alcohol as partners. With big crowds leaving games where alcohol is promoted as part of the experience, accidents and injury are common.

A study in Australia looks further into the sports and alcohol combination, examining the link between the alcohol consumption of athletes and the level of sponsorship they enjoy by companies that produce and market alcohol. The study was published online in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism and was the first comparison of alcohol industry sponsorship to other types of sponsorship for athletes.

A team of researchers from Monash University, the University of Manchester, Deakin University and the University of Western Sydney asked Australian athletes about their drinking behaviors, sports involvement and sponsorships they were currently receiving.

After controlling for other possible influences, the researchers found that sponsorship from alcohol industry members in various forms was linked to a significantly higher level of drinking among athletes. Sponsorship from non-alcohol industries such as food or clothing did not predict a higher level of alcohol consumption.

Approximately 30 percent of athletes in Australia were receiving sponsorship from the alcohol industry. 68 percent of the sponsored athletes met criteria set forth by the World Health Organization for hazardous drinking.

The researchers were surprised to find that sponsorship from other types of companies did not increase alcohol consumption, simply through more available funds to spend on alcohol. However, there was not a connection between alcohol consumption and sponsorship, unless the sponsorship was by a member of the alcohol industry.

The research is published shortly after recommendations from the British Medical Association, Australian Preventative Health Taskforce and New Zealand Law Commission to discontinue the connection between alcohol and sports. The recommendations include having alcohol advertising and sponsorship removed from sports.

The lead author of the research, Dr. Kerry O'Brien cautions that sport is being used to promote alcohol, and that there are strategies to replace the money that is being poured into sports by alcohol companies.