Australian watchdog the Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE) has slammed alcohol companies for encouraging people to drink excessively during the coronavirus lockdown. CEO Caterina Giorgi said companies have been using coronavirus-themed slogans to boost their sales.
"Our concern is if people see messages from alcohol companies that talk about drinking more to get through isolation, then it is really exploiting this situation and we just think it shouldn’t be allowed", she said.
One such slogan read: "a bottle a day, keeps the iso boredom away". Another ad on Instagram read: "Have a friend who is stuck in iso and going a bit weird? We are now delivering alcohol and choccy to make their day. Shop our quarantine survival pack".
Figures provided by FARE show that 70 percent of Australians are now drinking more than before the self-isolation measures were introduced. One third of them hit the bottle every day. Caterina Giorgi said this will not only cause a rise in alcohol dependence, but also chronic diseases and "alcohol fuelled harms" at home.
She noted that only one ad has been removed, while other commercials that encourage excessive drinking are still online.