– Joint Open Letter –
Call to Exclude Alcohol Advertising from Ad-Supported Netflix Subscriptions
Addressed to:
Mr Reed Hastings Chairman
Netflix Inc.
100 Winchester Circle
Los Gatos, CA 95032 Reed.hastings@netflix.com
Dear Mr Hastings,
Congratulations on your decision to exclude gambling advertising from your platform, and to limit the marketing that children are exposed to. This is a commendable step and reflects the values that Netflix champions, particularly around judgment, integrity and inclusion.
We are writing to call on you to extend this exclusion to alcohol advertising.
Alcoholic products are addictive and cause significant harm. Globally, alcohol use is causally linked to over 200 disease and injury conditions [1] and 3 million lives are lost each year from alcohol use. [2] Alcohol consumption during pregnancy also causes Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), a lifelong disability.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified reducing alcohol use as a global priority in preventing illness and death. To reduce the significant and far-reaching harm from alcohol use, the WHO recommend comprehensive restrictions or bans of alcohol advertising. [3]
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. [4] Exposure to alcohol marketing also cues alcohol cravings and is known to trigger a desire to consume alcohol among people with high-risk alcohol use and for people recovering from alcohol addiction. [5]
With strong evidence showing the link between alcohol advertising and alcohol use and, subsequently, harm, it is imperative that Netflix takes action to ensure that alcohol advertising isn’t a part of the platform.
Please build on the important step you have taken in regard to gambling advertisements by excluding alcohol from ad- supported Netflix subscriptions.
We thank you for considering this request and would welcome the opportunity to meet with you on this urgent request.
Yours sincerely,
Dr Juan Tello, Head of Less Alcohol Unit, World Health Organization (WHO)
Prof Bettina Borisch, Executive Director, World Federation of Public Health Associations
Dr Kate Allen, Executive Director, Science and Public Affairs, World Cancer Research Fund International
Ms Caterina Giorgi, CEO, Foundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE)
Professor Elizabeth Handsley, President, Children and Media Australia
Kristina Sperkova, International President, Movendi International
Alison Douglas, CEO, Alcohol Focus Scotland
Dr Nicki Jackson, Executive Director, Alcohol Healthwatch, New Zealand
Dr Sheila Gilheany, CEO, Alcohol Action Ireland
Ms Louise Gray, CEO, NOFASD Australia
Associate Professor Scott Wilson, Co-Director, Centre for Research Excellence in Indigenous Health and Alcohol, Addiction Medicine, University of Sydney
Dr Alison Giles, Interim CEO, Institute of Alcohol Studies, United Kingdom
Ms Carolina Piñeros Ospina, CEO, Red PaPaz, Colombia
Jaime Delgado Zegarra, Coordinador, Plataforma Por La Alimentacion Saludable Peru
Juan Nuñez Guadarrama, Coordinator, Mexico Salud-Hable Coalition
Alejandro Calvillo, Executive Director, El Poder del Consumidor, Mexico
Diego Rodriguez Sendoya, Co-coordinator, Alianza ENT Uruguay
Dr Marita Pizarro, Executive Codirector, Fundación InterAmericana del Corazón Argentina
Ms Lucia Turcatti, Manager, CIET + Salud Uruguay
Mrs Nino Chikovani, Chairperson, Good Health and Wellbeing, Georgia
Ms Mona Örjes, President, Junis, Sweden
Ms Sarah Fabricius Blom Jul-Rasmussen, President, Juvente Norway
Dr Zaza Tsereteli, Board Member, Good Health and Well- Being, Georgia
Mr Sander Saavel, Chairman of Board, Juvente Estonia
Tina Rawal, Director Youth Engagement and Partnerships, HRIDAY
Ornulf Thorbjornsen, Leader, IOGT-Norway
Tibor Deák, Board Member, Movendi Slovakia
Mr Adalsteinn Gunnarsson, Secretary-General, IOGT Iceland
Priska Hauser-Scherer, President, IOGT Switzerland
Labram Musah, Executive Director of Programs, Vision for Alternative Development (VALD Ghana)
Dayana Vincent, Director, Fourth Wave Foundation, India
Fredric Schulz, Chairman of the Board, Guttempler in Deutschland e. V.
Björn Sævar Einarsson, President, IOGT Iceland
Mr Matej Košir, Director (CEO), Institute for Research and Development, Utrip
Wim van Dalen, Director, Dutch Institute for Alcohol Policy STAP, Netherlands
Mr Pubudu Sumanaskara, Executive Director, Alcohol and Drug Information Centre (ADIC) Sri Lanka
Nijole Gostautaite Midttun, President, Lithuanian Tobacco and Alcohol Control Coalition
Hanne Cecilie Widnes, Secretary General, IOGT Norway
Ms Paula Johns, Executive Director, ACT Health Promotion, Brazil
Vanja Kalaba, Executive Director, Centre for Youth Work, Serbia
Liton Chowdhury, Chief Executive, Songshoptaque, Bangladesh
Alagie B Janneh, President, IOGT-Gambia
Wilson Onyeanula, National Coordinator, Napyi Nigeria
Nelson Baziwelo Zakeyu, National Coordinator, Malawi Alcohol Policy Alliance (MAPA)
Theera Watcharapranee, Manager, Stop Drink Network, Thailand
Dhruba Prasad Ghimire, President, Pariwartan Sanchar Samuha (Pariwartan Media Group), Nepal
Nkatha Mwenda, Chairperson, Graceful Youth Recovery Centre, Kenya
Petros Sibanyoni, Founder/Chairman, Bambanani NGO, South Africa
Mphonyane Mofokeng, Founder and Director, Anti Drug Abuse Association of Lesotho
Brenda Chitindi, Founder and Executive Secretary, Zambia Heart and Stroke Foundation, Zambia
Bolormaa Purevdorj, MD, MPH, Chair, Population Health Research Center, Mongolia
Juliet Namukasa, Board Chairperson, Uganda Alcohol Policy Alliance
Sumnima Tuladhar, Executive Director, CWIN Nepal/Nepal Alcohol Policy Alliance
Tungamirai Zimonte, Executive Director, Youth Against Alcoholism and Drug Dependency, Zimbabwe
References
- Rehm J, Gmel GE, Gmel G, Hasan OSM, Imtiaz S, Popova S, Probst C, Roerecke M, Room R, Samokhvalov AV, Shield KD, Shuper PA. The relationship between different dimensions of alcohol use and the burden of disease—An update. Addiction. 2017;112(6):968-1001.
- 2 World Health Organization. Alcohol key facts. 2022 May 9. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/alcohol.
- 3 World Health Organization. Global action plan for the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases 2013-2020. 2013.
- 4 Jernigan D, Noel J, Landon J, Thornton N, Lobstein T. Alcohol marketing and youth alcohol consumption: A systematic review of longitudinal studies published since 2008. Addiction. 2017;112:7-20.
- 5 Murray R, Leonardi-Bee J, Barker A, Brown O, Langley T. The effect of alcohol marketing on people with, or at risk of, an alcohol problem: A rapid literature review. University of Nottingham & SPECTRUM, 2022.
Download
Download the joint open letter (PDF)
For further reading
Overview of stories chronicling how Netflix fuels alcohol harm.
Why communities are calling for an alcohol ads-free Netflix and how alcohol marketing causes harm.
