Alcohol Marketing and Social Media: A Challenge for Public Health Control

Abstract

In public health terms, alcohol is no ordinary commodity. It accounts not only for a substantial portion of the world’s burden of disease but also for much social harm. Because of this, a majority of countries have some kind of restrictions beyond general rules for foodstuffs on alcohol’s availability and promotion. On the international level, however, restrictions in the interests of public health are minimal. On the contrary, indeed, international and regional trade agreements are increasingly restricting what national governments can do to control the alcohol market.