Thoughts for Sobering: In 2024, have no regrets about your alcohol advertisements.

Okay, so that's the end of another year. We've all consumed as many holiday delights as we could manage, taken down the decorations, and made a commitment to work out tomorrow. Many people have a health kick at the beginning of the year, and Dry January—giving up alcohol for the month of January—has become somewhat of a tradition in recent years. This year, with the popularity of low- or no-alcohol alternatives, it will be simpler than ever to stick to. However, did you know that this kind of product may soon be subject to new regulations? Continue reading to learn how, in 2024, the low- or no-alcohol culture is evolving.Prior starting that, though, let's take a moment to review Dry January and what NOT to say if you sell alcohol-related products (i.e., anything with an ABV of more than 0.5%). First off, don't imply in your advertisements that participating in Dry January is pointless and that individuals would be better off getting wasted than trying. Second, avoid suggesting or saying that drinking alcohol is simple and staying sober is difficult.

Lastly, keep in mind that there are several limitations on what you may and cannot say about your product, even if it is low in calories, low in ABV, or has any other feature that might appeal to the "health conscious."The ASA maintained an email advertisement for a 4% hard seltzer drink in 2022. It said, "Forget Dry January... Is January's dry spell getting a bit stale? Nothing prevents you from having a drink without making you feel worse! Our beverages are the ideal option for a little libation without feeling too guilty because they only have 57 calories, 0g of sugar, and 4% ABV.

The ASA concluded that the advertisement's overall message was that people should drink alcohol to get over their boredom or tedium during Dry January, even though the advertiser claimed the headline "is dry January becoming a little dry?" was a play on words and that it made unapproved nutritional claims for an alcoholic beverage.Let's move on to Section 18 and alcohol substitutes. The new regulations that CAP is bringing later this year will subject alcohol substitutes to Section 18. For some context, there wasn't much of a market for low- or no-alcohol beverages when the alcohol regulations were initially established. Since British society was generally acclimatized to alcohol use until the last few decades, most advertising regulations, such rule 18.9, which prohibits products with a relatively high ABV from emphasizing the ABV excessively, were aimed at stifling careless statements. Naturally, a lot has changed, even in the past few years, and there have been few or no alcoholic items that have flourished in