Charity boss hits out as Van Der Merwe given Guinness medal

Her comments came as some of the country’s biggest booze firms warned that the Scottish Government’s proposed ban on alcohol advertising would “destroy Scotland’s drinks industry.”

READ MORE: Scotland player ratings as Van der Merwe stars in Calcutta Cup triumph

Companies including Budweiser Brewing Group, Lanson Champagne, Whyte & Mackay, Belhaven, Brewdog, Chivas Brothers/Pernod Ricard, Tennent’s Lager, and Diageo - which owns Guinness - have signed an open letter to ministers urging them to think again. 

The consultation, launched last year, runs until March 9, and raises the prospect of wide-ranging limitations on how firms can market their products. 

It could lead to a ban on all outdoor advertising of alcohol and an end to adverts in newspapers and magazines.

Other measures proposed could ultimately lead to distillery shops being barred from selling branded merchandise to visitors.

READ MORE: Alcohol could be 'hidden like tobacco' in marketing curbs

But one of the biggest impacts would be the outlawing of sponsorship deals for sporting and cultural events.

Guinness is the “title Sponsor and the official beer of the Six Nations”. 

The sporting event's website says the “partnership sees Guinness build on its already strong presence in and around the Home Nations stadia, ensuring fans can celebrate great days out at the rugby whilst enjoying a great pint of the black stuff!”

In their open letter, the companies say the proposed ban “could not have come at a worse time for our sector, and the many thousands we employ”, with the drinks industry having “suffered hard through the Covid years”, while the current cost-of-living crisis “threatens the very existence” of some firms.

Drinks firms insisted: “At times like these, we urgently need the support of our government and elected representatives.”

They argue that the “ban” on advertising and marketing will harm the sector with “no clear evidence to justify such a move”.

The letter states: “Restricting the ability to promote and market products responsibly will remove a vital route to market and go against the Scottish Government’s vision to double the turnover of the food and drink sector by 2030.

“A further unintended consequence of these proposals would be the blocking of a key source of vital funds to Scotland’s sports and arts and culture sectors, at a time when they can least afford this.”

The companies say the proposals “will needlessly hold our country back, to the detriment of Scottish jobs.”

Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, Ms Douglas said: “Obviously, you can have sympathy with people's businesses and livelihoods. But on the other side of this equation is a huge amount of misery and loss of life due to alcohol consumption. And we've really got to do something more to stop that. 

“We know that marketing works. I mean, if it didn't work, would we be having this level of outcry from the industry? It's about recruiting new drinkers, it's about sustaining consumption amongst those who are already drinking. And that's really causing an unacceptable amount of harm."

After two sensational tries during Saturday's Calcutta Cup, Van Der Merwe was a shoo-in for the man of the match. 

As he recounted to the world's media how he ran from inside his own half, defeating five English tackles to score one of the greatest tries ever seen in the history of rugby, he was wearing a medal branded with Guinness's alcohol-free beer. 

Ms Douglas said this was problematic: "We've got our man of the match with an alcohol-branded medal round his neck. And we're all deeply emotionally involved with that, and so that's a way of kind of linking alcohol with healthy and elite sports. That then kind of helps to undermine a lot of the health messaging.”

Ms Douglas said the international evidence showed that a complete ban was the most effective route to tackling alcohol-related health harms. 

“This is not just about people's health, it's also having a massive effect on our economy and look at the NHS at the moment, alcohol is making a major contribution to hospital admissions to emergency admissions to our ambulance service call out. This is making a major impact on our economy already.”

READ MORE: The Russian distillers damaging sales of Scots whisky

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Alcohol-related harm is one of the most pressing public health challenges that we face in Scotland.

“An average of 700 people are hospitalised and 24 people die each week from illnesses caused by drinking alcohol. That’s why we have taken forward initiatives such as Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) in the face of significant challenge from some quarters of the alcohol industry.”

Public health minister Maree Todd will meet “key stakeholders”, including figures from the alcohol and advertising sectors during the consultation to “hear directly” their concerns.

The Six Nations has been approached for comment.