Family Medicine & Primary Care Review

Full text

3/2026 vol. 28
Original paper

Who owns half-time? What are we being sold during the 2026 FIFA World Cup? Over-the-counter medicines, dietary supplements and medical devices in television advertising in Poland

Paulina Szot 1, 2
,
Joanna Jarzębska 3
,
Jakub Marek Baran 4
,
Damian Grusiecki 5
,
Zuzanna Waszak 1, 6
,
Maria Piotrowicz 7
,
Katarzyna Lewtak 1

  1. Department of Social Medicine and Public Health, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland

  2. Students’ Scientific Circle of Hygiene and Prevention, Department of Social Medicine and Public Health, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland

  3. Military Institute of Medicine – National Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland

  4. Bielański Hospital, Warsaw, Poland

  5. Międzyleski Specialist Hospital in Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland

  6. Praski Hospital, Warsaw, Poland

  7. Department of Health Promotion and Public Health System Implementation, National Institute of Public Health NIH-National Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland

Family Medicine & Primary Care Review 2026; 28(3): 277–286

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5114/fmpcr.2026.164657
Data publikacji online: 2026/09/29
Article file
07 FM&PCR 3 26 - O - Szot - 2128 - Who owns.pdf
  1. Lacy-Vawdon C, de, Livingstone C. Defining the commercial determinants of health: a systematic review. BMC Public Health 2020; 20(1): 1022, doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-09126-1.
  2. Ireland R, Bunn C, Reith G, et al. Commercial determinants of health: advertising of alcohol and unhealthy foods during sporting events. Bull World Health Organ 2019; 97(4): 290–295, doi: 10.2471/BLT.18.220087.
  3. Brown K. Association Between Alcohol Sports Sponsorship and Consumption: A Systematic Review. Alcohol Alcohol 2016; 51(6): 747–755, doi: 10.1093/alcalc/agw006.
  4. Alfayad K, Murray RL, Britton J, Barker AB. Population exposure to alcohol and junk food advertising during the 2018 FIFA world cup: implications for public health. BMC Public Health 2022; 22(1): 908, doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13233-6.
  5. Radlińska I, Kemicer-Chmielewska E, Kożybska M, et al. Over-the-counter (OTC) drug advertising: informative or harmful? - Analysis based on Polish research. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2022; 26(13): 4798–4808, doi: 10.26355/eurrev_202207_29205.
  6. Algarni M, Hadi MA, Yahyouche A, et al. A mixed-methods systematic review of the prevalence, reasons, associated harms and risk-reduction interventions of over-the-counter (OTC) medicines misuse, abuse and dependence in adults. J Pharm Policy Pract 2021; 14(1): 76, doi: 10.1186/s40545-021-00350-7.
  7. Zalewski A. Marketing farmaceutyczny w Polsce – badanie przekazów reklamowych leków, suplementów diety i wyrobów medycznych. Rozprawy Społeczne [Social Dissertations] 2020; 14(2): 107–127, doi: 10.29316/rs/124415 (in Polish).
  8. Wierzejska RE, Wiosetek-Reske A, Siuba-Strzelińska M, et al. Health-Related Content of TV and Radio Advertising of Dietary Supplements-Analysis of Legal Aspects after Introduction of Self-Regulation for Advertising of These Products in Poland. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022; 19(13): 8037, doi: 10.3390/ijerph19138037.
  9. Stępień KA, Niewiarowski J, Harasimiuk A. Powszechność suplementów diety a zagrożenia związane z ich stosowaniem. Biul Wydz Farm WUM 2019; 9: 51–59 (in Polish).
  10. Główny Urząd Statystyczny, Departament Badań Społecznych. Stan zdrowia ludności Polski w 2019 r. Warszawa: GUS; 2021 (in Polish).
  11.  Ustawa z dnia 11 sierpnia 2021 r. o zmianie ustawy o radiofonii i telewizji oraz ustawy o kinematografii (Dz.U. 2021, poz. 1676) [cited 23.08.2026]. Available from URL: https://isap.sejm.gov.pl/isap.nsf/download.xsp/WDU20210001676/T/D20211676L.pdf (in Polish).
  12. The National Broadcasting Council (KRRiT). Advertisements during sports broadcasts – the KRRiT explains [cited 23.08.2026]. Available from URL: https://www.gov.pl/web/krrit-en/advertisements-during-sports-broadcasts--the-krrit-explains.
  13. WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology. ATC/DDD Index. Oslo: Norwegian Institute of Public Health [cited 23.08.2026]. Available from URL: https://atcddd.fhi.no/atc_ddd_index/.
  14. Biuro Reklamy TVP. FIFA World Cup 2026 – podsumowanie fazy grupowej. Warszawa: Telewizja Polska; 2026 [cited 29.08.2026]. Available from URL: https://brtvp.pl/65216369/mundial-2026-podsumowanie-turnieju (in Polish).
  15. Sportmarketing.pl. Faza grupowa mundialu przyciągnęła miliony kibiców przed ekrany. Mamy dane oglądalności z TVP; 2026 [cited 29.08.2026]. Available from URL: https://www.sportmarketing.pl/media/114542/faza-grupowa-mundialu-przyciagnela-miliony-kibicow-przed-ekrany-mamy-dane-ogladalnosci-z-tvp/ (in Polish).
  16. Karbownik MS, Horne R, Paul E, et al. Determinants of Knowledge About Dietary Supplements Among Polish Internet Users: Nationwide Cross-sectional Study. J Med Internet Res 2021; 23(4): e25228, doi: 10.2196/25228.
  17. World Health Organization. Changing the game: strengthening health and well-being through sport events. Geneva: WHO; 2024.
  18. FIFA. FIFA to showcase social impact campaigns at FIFA World Cup 2026. Zurich: FIFA; 2026 [cited 23.08.2026]. Available from URL: https://inside.fifa.com/organisation/media-releases/social-impact-campaigns-world-cup-2026.
  19. FIFA. FIFA World Cup Community Training Sessions bring players and local communities together. Zurich: FIFA; 2026 [cited 23.08.2026]. Available from URL: https://inside.fifa.com/organisation/news/world-cup-community-training-sessions-be-active.
  20. FIFA. Be Active. Zurich: FIFA [cited 23.08.2026]. Available from URL: https://inside.fifa.com/campaigns/bring-the-moves.
  21. Gamberini L, Semeraro F, Van Goor S, et al. The UEFA EURO 2024 Get Trained Save Lives Campaign – promoting public health during mega sport events. Resuscitation 2025; 215: 110759, doi: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2025.110759.
  22. Wakefield MA, Loken B, Hornik RC. Use of mass media campaigns to change health behaviour. Lancet 2010; 376(9748): 1261–1271, doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(10)60809-4.
  23. Brownfield ED, Bernhardt JM, Phan JL, et al. Direct-to-consumer drug advertisements on network television: an exploration of quantity, frequency, and placement. J Health Commun 2004; 9(6): 491–497, doi: 10.1080/10810730490523115.
  24. Hys K, Matuszek DB, Olejnik K, et al. Intensity of commercial communication in Poland in the field of dietary supplements. Eur Res Stud J 2022; 25(4): 404–414, doi: 10.35808/ersj/3089.
  25. BLIX & Kantar. Leki OTC i Suplementy 2026 [cited 29.08.2026]. Available from URL: https://grupablix.pl/raport/raport-leki-otc-i-suplementy-2026-by-blix-kantar/.
  26. Hughes CM, McElnay JC, Fleming GF. Benefits and risks of self medication. Drug Saf 2001; 24(14): 1027–1037, doi: 10.2165/00002018-200124140-00002.
  27. Ruiz ME. Risks of self-medication practices. Curr Drug Saf 2010; 5(4): 315–323, doi: 10.2174/157488610792245966.
  28. Najwyższa Izba Kontroli. Nadzór nad dopuszczeniem i obrotem lekami bez recepty w świetle bezpieczeństwa pacjenta. Informacja o wynikach kontroli [cited 29.08.2026]. Available from URL: https://www.nik.gov.pl/plik/id,30079,vp,33090.pdf (in Polish).
  29. Philipp M, Seifert R. Legal and scientific deficiencies of drug advertisements on German television. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol 2025; 398(5): 5287–5301, doi: 10.1007/s00210-024-03604-8.
  30. Wierzejska RE, Wiosetek-Reske A, Poznańska A, et al. Consumer trust and attitudes towards advertisements for dietary supplements. Nutrients 2026; 18(15): 2518, doi: 10.3390/nu18152518.
  31. Sierpiński R, Jankowski M, Raciborski F, et al. Sociodemographic differences in the use of dietary supplements in a representative sample of adults in Poland – a secondary analysis. Front Nutr 2025; 12: 1724264, doi: 10.3389/fnut.2025.1724264.
  32. Karbownik MS, Paul E, Nowicka M, et al. Knowledge about dietary supplements and trust in advertising them: Development and validation of the questionnaires and preliminary results of the association between the constructs. PLOS ONE 2019; 14(6): e0218398, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0218398.
Copyright: © 2026 Family Medicine & Primary Care Review. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/), allowing third parties to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format and to remix, transform, and build upon the material, provided the original work is properly cited and states its license.
SUBMIT YOUR PAPER
Share
without publication fees
Coverage in
Integrated with
Editorial Policies
Sarajevo Declaration on Integrity and Visibility of Scholarly Publications