Portman Group, the drinks industry body, "slammed a report claiming alcohol sponsorship causes increased underage drinking," according to Matthew Chapman of MARKETING MAGAZINE. Research by the Institute of Alcohol Studies claims that studies from Australia, New Zealand, the U.K., Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland have all reported "positive associations between exposure to alcohol sports sponsorship and self-reported alcohol consumption." IAS added that two studies found alcohol sports sponsorship was "associated with increased levels of drinking amongst schoolchildren." However, the Portman Group "has attacked the findings and hit out at the motives of the IAS," which it labels as "the UK’s leading temperance campaigners." Portman Group CEO Henry Ashworth said, "It is unsurprising that the IAS consistently ignore the official statistics which show significant and sustained declines in underage drinking during the last decade. The IAS also fails to mention the real world evidence that shows an alcohol sponsorship ban in France has had no effect on reducing underage drinking" (MARKETING MAGAZINE, 2/25).
