Alcohol News June 2004
Wednesday, June 30, 2004
Another round in the brewhaha
Chicago Sun-Times, IL June 29, 2004
By now the public should be aware there's a nasty war going on between the nation's two largest brewers -- Anheuser Busch and Miller Brewing Co.
Clearly, Miller struck a chord when it began harping on "The King of Beers," A-B's familiar tagline. Cleverly, Miller tried to suggest there was something decidedly un-American about a big American-based beer company using such an undemocratic-sounding term.
If that wasn't enough to stir the wrath of a sleepy, but still dominant brew king, Miller also pressed its low-carb and better taste themes, which could be counted on to resonate with beer drinkers. But those themes appear to have resonated even more than A-B might have suspected, because Miller's messages were contained in some very pointed and potent advertising.
And as Miller has repeatedly stated, it isn't about to back away from its current plan of attack. "Independence From the King," a new 30-second spot from Wieden + Kennedy in Portland, Ore., set to break on the eve of the Fourth of July weekend, uses a holiday that celebrates American independence as a reason for the Miller candidate for president of beers to push for a vote that Miller hopes will free beer drinkers from the tyrannical rule of an "iron-fisted king," as the spot puts it.
The "Independence" commercial has been shot as a montage of candid black-and-white stills that give the impression the photographer has caught the Miller candidate and his aides in the executive suite heatedly plotting their plan to overthrow the king. It's a concept that comes off, at best, as awkward and way too static to make much of an impact.
But even though this execution falls considerably short of other fine "Miller for President" work in recent months, "Independence From the King" will surely keep the pressure on A-B, which, by the way, has started running yet another reaction spot that tries to suggest the brewer is using the "king of beers" tag because that's what fans around the world have, in fact, dubbed the brew. To us, that sounds like one tall tale indeed.
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French Ads Say Drink Up, Docs Fume
CBS News, NY, June 30, 2004
(AP) -- Embattled French winemakers, struggling with sagging sales but backed by a powerful alliance of lawmakers, have a message for those who like a tipple: Drink more.
But their bid to loosen restrictions on alcohol advertising has met stiff resistance from doctors' groups -- who say French consumers drink quite enough already.
France's vintners have for years suffered a steady erosion of their livelihoods by margin-squeezing supermarket chains, falling demand at home and the growing popularity of Australian and American wines abroad. A government crackdown on drunken driving has also battered domestic sales.
Amid concern for the future of French vineyards and the 300,000 jobs they support, Parliament is to vote on a Senate amendment next month that would clear the way for more wine advertising on billboards, radio, in magazines and other mainstream media.
Health workers are bitterly opposed, and three medical organizations have complained to the prime minister that the proposed changes would fuel alcoholism.
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More on French Drinking
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May they see some ID?
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, NY, June 29, 2004
It doesn’t matter if a person trying to buy a beer has a full head of gray hair - now everyone has to show identification when purchasing alcohol at Wegmans.
At first glance, carding septuagenarians seems silly. Under the old rules, ID checks were limited to people who looked 30 and younger.
But this new policy takes the age-guessing pressure off cashiers, many of whom are teens. That’s a positive change. Stricter controls can help keep alcohol out of the hands of minors.
It can also protect businesses. Wegmans is being sued by the family of a young man who bought beer illegally and later died in a drunken driving accident.
Unfortunately a foolproof identification system can’t be the only solution, since most young drinkers get their alcohol from adult family members and friends or with fake IDs.
Although young female binge drinking is on the rise, teen drinking in general is slowly dropping. Education about the hazards of drinking and cultural changes receive much credit for that decline.
Informing young people that, for example, people who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to become alcoholics can encourage them to wait. And creating situations where they can have fun without drinking, such as alcohol-free graduation parties, also helps.
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Dedham (MA) theater applies for beer, wine license
Dedham Daily News Transcript, MD, June 29, 2004
Looking to spike its income with a new revenue source, the Dedham Community Theatre has applied for a license to sell beer and wine during movies and shows.
If a request is OK'd, patrons may soon be sipping a merlot with a movie or chugging a beer during a comedy show at the Dedham Square venue.
Selectmen, holding two open alcohol sales licenses, would have to grant one to Dedham Community Theatre owner Paul McMurtry.
With just two 300-seat rooms with movie screens, McMurtry said the beer and wine license would boost revenue and allow the independently-owned theater to expand by adding comedy shows.
The idea of selling alcohol at movie theaters is nothing new nationally or even locally. Nearby Stoughton has the Cinema Pub, for example.
But McMurtry said some selectmen have already expressed skepticism since it may lead to a situation in which an adult could bring alcohol to a minor inside the darkened theater.
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Tuesday, June 29, 2004
The Ultimate Game of Endrosement
ESPN.com, June 29, 2004
Dodgeball," the slapstick sports comedy that is tops at the box office, has its share of strategically placed consumer goods. The film, which centers around a small gym owner who gathers a team of members to play in a $50,000 dodgeball tournament he hopes will save his business from a hostile takeover by a rival health club, features products and brands, including Under Armour, Nike, Vitamin Water, Fiji Water, Pepsi, Budweiser, Bud Light, Nike, ESPN, Fox Sports and Nautilus. The movie has accumulated box office receipts totaling $67.2 million in its first 10 days in theatres, giving each product huge exposure potentially worth anywhere from thousands of dollars to millions.
While the financial benefits of product placement are unclear, the method continues to be effective, judging from the proliferation of the advertising, as well as the reaction from watchdog groups that have become concerned with placements by tobacco and alcohol brands in movies that target youth.
When Vince Vaughn's character, Peter LaFleur, rallies his troops to compete in the dodgeball tournament, he hands out bottles of Budweiser. Later in the movie, a neon Bud Light sign hangs in the background during a bar scene.
"Alcohol product placement gives young people a positive perception of alcohol and drinking behavior," said Amon Rappaport, communications director for the Marin Institute, an alcohol industry watchdog, which has openly criticized Anheuser Busch's role in the PG-rated film. "Considering that alcohol, and especially beer, is the No. 1 drug of choice for underage youth in the United States, isn't it time that the alcohol industry stopped serving teenagers with beer ads in movies?"
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More on Budwesier Product Placement in PG-13 film, Dodgeball
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A Brewing Family Feud Poses Risks for Molson Beer Empire
The Wall Street Journal, June 29, 2004
MONTREAL -- One morning in May, Ian Molson strode into the executive offices of Molson Inc. looking for his cousin Eric H. Molson, who had been chairman of their family's beer company for more than 16 years.
Ian found his cousin in a hallway. "Is it true that you are opposed to my succeeding you as chairman?" Ian says he demanded to know. Eric confirmed he didn't want his cousin to take over, according to Ian.
Hours later, Ian resigned as deputy chairman, deepening a painful rift in one of North America's oldest business families. Ian had expected to one day be made chairman, even though he hailed from a branch of the family that had been sidelined. Eric, by contrast, considered his close relatives to be "real" Molsons, and was uncomfortable with his distant cousin's ambition.
As is often the case in family business dynasties, the feud stems from old wounds. According to former and current directors, family members and executives, its origins stretch back two centuries to the tangled alliances of the company's founding family, and a question that has haunted generations: Who are the "real" Molsons? Only the controlling shareholders or the wider family too?
At a time when the global beer market is consolidating in the hands of a few big players, the family schism and boardroom divisions make Molson -- currently valued at $3 billion -- a target for a hostile offer, analysts say. The family controls the 218-year-old company through a dual-stock structure; Eric and his only brother control over half the voting shares. Lloyd Barber, who retired from Molson's board last month, says Eric has "no intention" of selling, but notes that the board is duty-bound to examine any offers.
Molson, meanwhile, is battling to preserve its position in Canada and find new markets overseas. In the past 15 years, analysts say, Molson's Canadian market share has fallen to 44% from 53%.
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Blitz planned on drunken violence in town centres
Independent News, June 29, 2004
A national blitz on under-age drinking and alcohol-fuelled disorder - blamed for nearly half of all violent crime - will begin next week, David Blunkett announced yesterday.
The operation, to be led by the former US police chief Paul Evans, follows a recent warning by Tony Blair that binge drinking was in danger of becoming a "new sort of British disease".
Following sporadic trouble across the country after England's defeats in the European Championship against France and Portugal, Mr Blunkett has also told the Cabinet he is preparing other new action against drink-related violence. Tacking anti-social behaviour - including the damage caused by drunken youths - will be a main theme of the Home Office's five-year anti-crime plan, which will be released next month. It is expected to include a provision to ban repeated drunken troublemakers from licensed premises for three years.
During the campaign information will also be collected on cheap drinks promotions, including "happy hours" and "two for one" offers. Extra officers will be on duty to try to nip drunken violence in the bud and to make city centre streets feel safer.
Ministers are also holding meetings with the alcohol industry to urge it to reconsider promotions that encourage drinkers to consume large amounts in a short time.
Home Office research has found that alcohol is the cause of 44 per cent of violent crime and 70 per cent of admissions to hospital accident and casualty departments on Friday and Saturday nights. One in four people complain that drinkers regularly cause trouble in their areas.
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Bread, milk and scotch
Oregonian, OR, June 28, 2004
Oregon always has kept its hard alcohol on the highest shelf in the kitchen, almost, but not quite, out of reach. Now there's an uproar about a plan by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to make it somewhat easier for people to reach distilled spirits.
The OLCC is moving ahead with a pilot program to allow new liquor stores inside six grocery stores. The booze would sit in self-contained stores within stores, not on shelves alongside groceries. Even so, the experiment has triggered a hostile reaction from anti-alcohol groups and existing liquor store agents.
State Sen. Bill Morrisette, D-Springfield, has complained that the OLCC is "out of control." Mothers Against Drunk Driving and other groups claimed in a recent legislative hearing that the new liquor stores would inevitably lead to more youth drinking, more accidents and more alcohol abuse.
Oregon has long struggled for the right balance in making hard liquor available, but not too available. It's now clear that the state needs more liquor stores. From 1980 to 2000, Oregon grew by nearly a million people. In that time, the number of state liquor stores grew by just one outlet.
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More on the Costs of Alcohol Problems
Info on the Relationship Between Alcohol Outlet Density and Underage Drinking
Monday, June 28, 2004
State Leaders Convene to Address College Alcohol Problems
Ascribe Newswire, June 24, 2004
PITTSBURGH, (AScribe Newswire) -- Teams from 39 states gathered today in Pittsburgh to tackle the issue of higher alcohol excise taxes and other policy approaches to preventing underage and high-risk drinking among college students.
The four-day event, the Statewide Initiatives Leadership Institute, is the sixth in a series of national meetings involving leaders of statewide campus alcohol prevention initiatives, including policy advocates, government officials, licensing board members, and college and university staff. Previous Institutes have focused on how statewide initiative leaders can support campus and community coalitions dedicated to changing the environment that encourages student substance use. In addition to this continued priority, this year's Institute addresses alcohol pricing and increased alcohol taxation as a prevention strategy.
"In two dozen states, alcohol taxes have not increased in decades and have dwindled with inflation," states George Hacker, Director of the Alcohol Policies Project at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). "Moreover, tax rates still fail miserably to compensate for the many costs of alcohol problems to society. State level increases in alcohol taxes would allow governments to reclaim a valuable source of revenue, as well as reduce alcohol consumption and consequences among young people. As so many states find their budgets in the red, this new revenue can support public health and safety programs to enforce liquor laws, prevent underage drinking and college alcohol abuse, provide treatment for alcohol and drug problems, and support traffic safety."
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Perceiving is believing
Naperville Sun, IL, June 26, 2004
Naperville teens need look no further than the recent seasons of MTV's "The Real World" to find young people being glorified for getting drunk beyond belief on a regular basis.
However, it appears that even if they make healthful choices themselves, these teens draw their perceptions of substance abuse from those who make drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco and abusing drugs appear a common practice among America's youth.
Recent survey and census results from the Social Norms Marketing Campaign in Naperville School District 203 and Indian Prairie School District 204 indicated that Naperville high school students believed 85 percent of their classmates smoked tobacco or consumed alcohol within the past month.
In reality, three-fourths of those students reported that they had never smoked tobacco, and two-thirds of them said they hadn't consumed alcohol in the past 30 days.
"So it's like a huge disparity," said Karen Jarczyk, program coordinator at NCO Youth and Family Services. "In theory, if we can change that perception, we can change that behavior, too."
Seeking to correct the misconception, the students were targeted with the Social Norms Marketing Campaign during the 2001-02 and 2002-03 school years.
"Media out there just plaster them with the idea that everybody's doing it," said Sandy Stelmach, District 203's student assistance coordinator.
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Businesses with vested interests supply governor's mansion with free booze, wine
New London Day, CT,June 27, 2004
Is there anything wrong with the liquor industry providing free booze for official state parties at the Governor's Residence? You bet there is. The liquor industry has certain bills it wants passed in the General Assembly or favorable state statutes the industry wants unchanged. So what is a special-interest group doing liquoring up the governor, his friends, state legislators and anybody else who gets an official invitation to the residence on Prospect Street in Hartford?
There's no justification for the governor's office taking free booze so the taxpayers don't pick up the tab. But tradition has powerful endurance and so no one does anything to change this practice, which smacks of a conflict of interest.
But what happens when the liquor industry is lobbying for Sunday hours for state liquor sales in package stores? Or trying to get its point across on some other issue?
It's difficult to justify the acceptance of freebies as anything but an attempt to get in the good graces of the governor and the other top state officials who regularly gather at the executive residence along with captains of industry and the like.
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Alcohol rules could change
Hattiesburg American, MS, June 25, 2004
Last call for alcohol at Forrest County bars may come a little later in the future. Forrest County Sheriff Billy McGee said he wants bars and clubs in the county to stop selling alcohol at 2 a.m., the same time last call is mandated in Hattiesburg.
"We've got people who leave Hattiesburg at 2 a.m. when the bars close and drive to a county club where they continue drinking until 5 or 6 a.m.," McGee said Thursday. "They are just getting drunker and then driving county roads."
Hattiesburg ordinances require all bars and clubs to stop selling beer and liquor at 2 a.m. Forrest County operates under state law which stops alcohol sales at midnight but allows bars or clubs to remain open.
"When Hattiesburg closes down, people arrive at county spots and brown-bag it," the sheriff said. He said patrons bring their own alcohol or buy it before the cutoff time.
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More on Cities Moving Toward Earlier Last Call
Friday, June 25, 2004
Marin Institute Responds to Peter Coors' Plan to Lower Drinking Age; Statement of Mark Pertschuk, Executive Director
Business Wire, June 25, 2004
SAN RAFAEL--The following is a statement by Mark Pertschuk of the Marin Institute: Peter Coors' suggestion that we "reopen the debate" on lowering the drinking age comes as no surprise to those who have followed Coors' youth-oriented advertising over the years. Perhaps now that he is a candidate for the US Senate, Mr. Coors wants to do legally what his company has been doing for years -- targeting kids with promotions for beer. Twenty years ago Coors Brewing was the first to position Halloween as a beer-drinking holiday -- launching what became an industry-wide practice of using Halloween images to market beer. More recently, public outcry forced Coors to withdraw a TV ad campaign that featured a shirtless, howling young man with "Coors" painted on his chest. This past October teen moviegoers filled theaters to see Scary Movie 3 -- a PG-13 film co-promoted by Coors featuring Coors Light and an appearance by the Coors Twins.
Mr. Coors must be uncomfortable that a significant chunk of his company's profits -- like those of other major brewers -- come from underage drinking. But rather than heed the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences to curb youth access to alcohol in its recent report "Reducing Underage Drinking," Mr. Coors wants to make the problem go away by dropping the drinking age. Too bad it isn't that easy to reclaim the thousands of young lives lost to alcohol-related homicide, suicide, motor vehicle and other injuries that occur in our country each year even with a national drinking age of 21.
There is no serious debate on the effectiveness of the national 21 drinking age law. Since its adoption 20 years ago, the law has saved nearly 20,000 young lives from alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes alone. If Mr. Coors wants to deliberate about something, he should focus instead on why beer taxes remain so low despite the fact that alcohol-related problems cost our nation upwards of $184 billion a year and young people can buy beer that is cheaper than water. Those, Mr. Coors, are questions worthy of debate.
See examples of Coors youth-targeted promotions at: http://www.marininstitute.org/coors/
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Colo. Senate hopeful: Lower drinking age
Boston Globe, MA, June 24, 2004
DENVER -- Republican Senate candidate and brewery magnate Peter Coors has reiterated his support for lowering the drinking age to 18, saying that young people drink anyway and the government has made them criminals.
During a debate with primary opponent Bob Schaffer on Wednesday, Coors didn't back down from remarks he made several years ago in support of lowering the drinking age from 21. Coors said it could help teenagers learn to drink responsibly.
He also criticized government efforts to force states to raise the legal age. "I don't think that's a proper use of the executive branch," he said.
The remarks set off criticism Thursday.
Underage drinking destroys lives and costs our nation billions of dollars," said James Copple, co-director of the International Institute for Alcohol Awareness.
The Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation said underage drinking costs the nation $62.6 billion annually in deaths, injuries, property damage, and related economic and productivity losses. It said alcohol consumption by underage drinkers in 2001 led to 3,212 deaths nationwide.
Coors did not return phone calls seeking comment.
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Report: Binge Drinking on Rise in Young Women
Forbes, June 23, 2004
Binge drinking among young women is on the rise, bringing with it a number of health consequences, including fetal alcohol syndrome.
That's the conclusion of a report, Alcohol and Pregnancy Don't Mix, issued Wednesday by the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. It found that binge drinking in women aged 18 to 44 increased in the United States by 13 percent between 1999 and 2002.
Why the overall increase? Experts aren't sure, but advertising might have something to do with it.
"The general thinking is that the market has shifted to women as a very easy target," said Dr. Gopal Upadhya,medical director of Areba Casriel Institute, a substance abuse treatment facility in New York City.
"The marketing of alcohol, the specials that are offered around campuses that make getting drunk cheaper than going to the movies, are an allure that draw people to drinking more than they normally would," Wechsler added. "The more prices are lowered and drinks becomes super-sized, the greater the chance that people will drink more at a sitting."
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More on the Effects of Alcohol on Women
Thursday, June 24, 2004
Brewing company ousted as fair sponsor
Marin Independent Journal, CA, June 24, 2004
A coalition of Marin community groups has staged a beer-sponsorship Putsch, unseating "the president of beers" - Miller Brewing Co. - as the title sponsor at next week's Marin County Fair.
"This is a first in the fair industry; it's never been done before," said Jim Farley, the county's deputy director of cultural and visitor services, who manages the fair.
As a result, Miller's banner will not fly over the fair's entertainment pavilion, nor will the beer company's logo appear on tickets to the fair, on the county's electronic sign facing Highway 101, or in most newspaper ads for the fair, Farley said.
"The Play Fair coalition feels that a family-oriented fair should be associated with pro-health messages, not beer messages," said Amon Rappaport, a spokesman for the Marin Institute. The Institute, which is funded by the Buck Trust, works to reduce alcohol problems through prevention.
"Clearly, alcohol is our nation's No. 1 drug problem," said Larry Meredith, the county's director of Health and Human Services. "We don't need to celebrate entertainment by flying the colors of a brewing company."
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Film's Beer Ads Anger Alcohol Policy Group
New York Times, NY, June 23, 2004
An alcohol policy advocacy group complained yesterday that the new film "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" exposes too many teenagers to beer advertising, through placements of packaging and signs for the Budweiser and Bud Light brands sold by the Anheuser-Busch division of the Anheuser-Busch Companies.
The advocacy group, the Marin Institute...cited "Dodgeball," which was the No. 1 film last week in its first week, as an example of aggressive beer marketing to teenagers through placements in films rated PG-13. Amon Rappaport, communications director at the Marin Institute, said the brewers exploited the lack of guidelines for advertising in movies. Voluntary guidelines call for brewers to run print and television ads only where at least 70 percent of the audience is above the drinking age. The advocacy group is based in San Rafael, Calif.
John T. Kaestner, vice president for consumer affairs at Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis, said the company places its products only in movies with adult appeal whose ticket buyers are mostly at least 21 years old. "Just like 'The Stepford Wives' and 'The Terminal,' which are rated PG-13, 'Dodgeball' appeals to an adult audience," Mr. Kaestner said.
Other PG-13 movies like "Scary Movie 3" and "Spider-Man" have also included product placement for beer companies. The studio that released "Dodgeball," the 20th Century Fox division of the News Corporation, said it would try to provide someone to discuss beer placements in the film but was unable to do so by deadline.
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Wednesday, June 23, 2004
Underage drinking topic of Mont Belvieu, TX, meeting
Baytown Sun, TX, June 22, 2004
Residents of Mont Belvieu and surrounding areas are saying “Enough.” Enough underage drinking and enough tragedy among the community’s young people. Their concerns are taking them to the Mont Belvieu Senior Center tonight to ask the next logical question, “What can we do about it?”
Parents and residents of the Barbers Hill school district are gathering for a public forum to hear the scope of the underage drinking problem, to ask questions of local school officials and to learn their rights from law enforcement officers.
Slated speakers include Tim Sonnenberg, who will share results from an anonymous survey in which Barbers Hill High School students describe their access to and use of alcoholic beverages; Mont Belvieu Chief of Police Jerry Whitman, who will discuss safety elements of the use of alcohol by minors; Lt. Deborah Jones of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, who will discuss alcohol policy and the legal history of enforcement; and Joni Adams, resident and former DARE officer for Barbers Hill schools who will share her observations of local teenage alcohol abuse.
“Our community has a growing problem with underage drinking,” said forum organizer Sherman Hampton. “Concerned parents want to talk about the problem and find solutions to it.
“With this meeting we’ll be able to hear from experts about the legal aspects of providing alcohol to young people, as well as show our law enforcement officials and school officials that we are supportive of their efforts.”
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Georgia beer lovers to get more alcohol
Charleston.net/Associated Press, June 21, 2004
Beer in Georgia is about to get more kick.
The raising of the maximum beer-alcohol content from 6 percent to 14 percent means a new wave of microbrews and international beers will soon be for sale in the state, giving Georgians options beyond their usual lightweight brews.
"Beer has gotten a bad rap because of what we've been forced to drink the last 40 to 50 years," said Glen Sprouse, brewmaster at Five Seasons Brewing in Atlanta. "Maybe you haven't had a good beer before."
Breweries are anticipating the influx of beers by holding tastings and parties.
The proposal to raise the beer-alcohol limit met resistance each of the last few years in the state Legislature. Some politicians were concerned teenagers would seek out beers with higher alcohol limits and people would get drunk faster and endanger roadways.
"The biggest concerns were adding to the number of DUIs and accidents related to alcohol that may kill somebody," said Rep. Craig Brock, R-Chatsworth, who voted against the bill. "It's been a hot issue."
No one put up significant opposition to the legislation this year, not even Mothers Against Drunk Driving. At the same time, beer drinkers enlisted a few state representatives to help them and hired a lobbyist to persuade others.
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Tuesday, June 22, 2004
Drunkenness a target for Australian community awareness
News-Medical.net, June 22, 2004
The Drug and Alcohol Office today launched the first phase of a long-term strategy to reduce drunkenness and its contribution to a range of problems experienced by the community.
Dr. Allsop said the Enough is Enough alcohol education program was part of a long-term strategy to decrease the acceptance for drunkenness, and increase support for changes to environments that reduce drunkenness and related harm.
The first phase of the program will include media advertising, community-based initiatives and access to an interactive website which includes information and acts as a referral point for members of the community to identify options that can help with their local problem or area of interest.
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Free beer for voters falls flat
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, NY, June 22, 2004
Monroe County Democrats joined with High Falls Brewery to offer two free 2-ounce beers to those who registered to vote at the festival. Then the new voter went into a voting booth and picked the brew they liked the most. The promotion was called “Register Your Taste.”
The initiative drew jeers from substance abuse counselors, who knocked it for promoting alcohol consumption. But Molly Clifford, head of Monroe County Democrats, said the samples were small and was just a fun way to get young people, who tend to shy away from voting, involved in the process.
Candidates would often have vats of booze at polling places to lure voters. In fact, George Washington lost his first bid for the Assembly in Virginia in the mid-1700s because he didn’t spend enough on alcohol, said Eric Burns, a Fox News media analyst and author of the book, The Spirits of America.
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Monday, June 21, 2004
Bucs' All-You-Can-Drink Deal Raises Some Safety Concerns
Tampa Tribune, FL, June 19, 2004
Safe-driving advocates criticized the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Friday for offering ticket packages that include unlimited beer during pregame tailgate parties, arguing it could lead some fans to drive drunk.
The Buccaneers advertised the game ticket and tailgate promotion in two full-page newspaper advertisements Monday in The Tampa Tribune.
The Tribune is a Pewter Partner of the Buccaneers, a promotional arrangement under which the newspaper is among the team's sponsors. Bernie Petrich, the Tribune's advertising operations manager, said the Bucs redeemed some of the value of that sponsorship by running the ads.
The ads billed the game events as ``Tampa Bay's Largest Tailgate Party'' and the ``Ultimate Tailgate Opportunity.''
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Enforcement tied to bars closing
Iowa City Press-Citizen, IA, June 20, 2004
The notorious Iowa City establishments have locked their doors or closed their bars after racking up alcohol-serving violations - something numerous bars have gotten one or more of in the past three years.
"To my recollection, this is the most establishments closed at one time," said Lynn Walding, administrator with the state's Alcoholic Beverages Division, adding that the rising number of violations can, in part, be credited to an increase in local alcohol-enforcement. "With the enforcement programs that started three to four years ago, what we are now seeing are the results of that enforcement."
The Airliner, 22 S. Clinton St., began serving a three-month alcohol license suspension on June 6 for accumulating three violations for service to minors. The bar, typically open from 11 a.m. to 1:30 a.m., stopped serving alcohol and started closing its doors at 10 p.m. upon commencement of the suspension.
Fitzpatrick's, 525 S. Gilbert St., did more than stop serving alcohol after receiving three violations for service to minors since 2002. Owner Gary Fitzpatrick decided to close his business completely, putting him effectively out of business beginning May 25.
"I wouldn't have sold the business. I would have stayed, because I love Iowa City," owner George Barlas said. "But it's the stepped-up policy of the city to curb the underage drinking, that's what it comes down to. If they want to target an area, the bars are the place to start."
The City Council began taking a more active role in regulating alcohol use in 2001, when it banned some drink specials and took on more authority to revoke or suspend alcohol licenses. From 2001 to 2002, the number of arrests made for possession of alcohol under the legal age more than doubled from 988 to 2,271. Councilors continued their push to curb underage and binge drinking by passing a law last year banning those under age 19 from entering alcohol-serving establishments after 10 p.m.
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Minor sales a major deal for program
Montgomery Advertiser, AL, June 21, 2004
An aggressive program in Prattville to lower the rate of underage alcohol sales is being recognized as one of the best in the nation.
Since 1996, the project has been credited with lowering reported sales to minors a whopping 83 percent. The effort is handled by the Prattville Police Department and the Alabama Alcohol Beverage Control Board that controls alcohol sales in the state.
Under the program, teens age 16-19 go into area businesses and attempt to purchase alcohol. No other city in Alabama uses an approach like this, said Martha Ellis, director of Peers Are Staying Straight (P.A.S.S.) an anti-alcohol and drug use program geared to senior and junior high students in Autauga County. There have been 30 checks done so far this year, with no reported sales.
"That makes Prattville's effort the best in the nation," Ellis said. "If you look back over the years, you see a steady increase in the number of checks conducted, and a steady decrease in the number of sales made to underage drinkers. We have had numerous communities contact us to get information about what's being done in Prattville."
The effort was singled out last year by the Community of Anti-Drug Coalitions of America, along with the National Highway Traffic Safety Division and the Office of Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention.
"The reason this program is so successful is because we work closely with the ABC Board and the local businesses in town. The credit needs to go to the officers, the operatives, the ABC agents and the business owners. Everything is open and above board" said Michael Pauline, manager of Longhorn Steakhouse.
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Friday, June 18, 2004
Appeals court says bar can sue underage drinkers
Fort Wayne News Sentinel, IN, June 17, 2004
Owners of a South Bend bar that could have lost its liquor license for serving minors can sue the underage drinkers, the Indiana Court of Appeals has ruled.
The appeals court has decided that while public policy places the burden of enforcing the underage drinking laws on bar owners, “we also recognize the competing public policy that the minors should be held accountable for their actions.”
The Millennium Club Inc., which owns The Boat Club bar, last year sued more than 200 people, primarily students from the University of Notre Dame and St. Mary’s College, seeking $3,000 in damages from each.
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Village blocks out underage drinking
Elm Leaves, IL, June 16, 2004
At the June 3 Village Board meeting, Trustee Carmen Forte expressed his concern that minors were indulging in alcoholic beverages at block parties, some of which are serving a dual purpose as graduation parties. He suggested the person seeking the block party permit be held liable in case of underage drinking.
But Village President Peter Silvestri said he thought it would be unfair to the person asking for the permit. "They're doing a public service," Silvestri said. "They're creating a community bond."
He noted the difficulty one would have trying to observe all the activity going on along the block. Instead, Silvestri suggested police officers walk through block parties.
"They have to get out of their cars," Silvestri said of officers. "It probably would make for good community relations. "I think it could be a good community outreach," he noted, adding he did not want officers to act "like Gestapo."
Police Chief Thomas Braglia explained that many times officers do interact with residents at block parties, often bringing in the squad car and allowing the children to take a closer look.
Instead of making a block party petitioner subject to arrest in cases of underage drinking, Silvestri suggested allowing police officers to do their jobs.
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More on Changing the Alcohol Environment at Public Events
Resident fights Byram BYOB ban
Star Ledger, NJ, June 13, 2004
In 1977, the state of New Jersey sanctioned the practice of bringing beer and wine into restaurants that don't have a liquor license. Later that year, Byram in Sussex County passed a law restricting non-licensed eateries from allowing their customers to bring their own liquor.
Twenty-seven years later, a Byram resident is challenging that law. Roy McDonald is collecting signatures to overturn the policy and permit the township's nearly 9,000 residents to bring beer or wine to the handful of restaurants that are not licensed to serve alcohol.
Councilwoman Donna Griff dreads the prospect of Byram changing its law. "I think there's a potential for underage drinking in those restaurants and there is a potential for someone walking out of that restaurant and causing a serious accident in their car because nobody's checking them, because they don't have to," Griff said.
BYOB locales are not held to the stringent standards that establishments with liquor licenses must follow. According to state law, restaurants that allow BYOB must restrict intake to beer and wine and allow consumption only during hours when other bars operate in the respective town. They are barred from advertising the policy, issuing additional fees or permitting underage patrons to drink liquor.
"They don't understand the liability of these things," Michael Stabile, co-owner of Wild West City, said. "Who monitors the consumption? Who monitors the fact that a kid might be at the table, 17 years old? That's kind of like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse."
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More on the Environmental Prevention Model
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Anti-drinking programs not always effective
La Vista Sun, NE, June 16, 2004
Though there are many projects and programs trying to address problems with underage drinking, Nigel Wrangham said many of them are missing the mark when it comes to dealing with what he calls the true problems.
Most of the programs, he said, target individual change, not group change, Wrangham said. Changing a group of people's behavior, he said, can only come by making environmental changes. "Making individual changes focuses on behavior and behavior change," he said. "Environmental change focuses on policy and policy change."
Among the changes Wrangham and other advocates of environmental changes are pushing for are raising the cost of alcohol, limiting the hours of sale and the outlets of distribution, increasing training for clerks and servers regarding checking of identification, and requiring the registering of bulk amounts of alcohol, such as kegs of beer.
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More on the Environmental Prevention Model
Pattern of alcohol consumption key in development of liver disease, UB study finds
University at Buffalo Reporter, NY, June 17, 2004
Women who habitually consume alcohol without food and men who drink daily rather than less frequently are at increased risk of liver damage even after adjusting for amount of alcohol consumed, the first study of the effects of drinking patterns on biochemical indicators of alcohol-related liver damage has shown.
The study is highlighted in the June issue of Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research. Saverio Stranges, research instructor in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine in the School of Public Health and Health Professions is principal investigator.
"The findings further confirm that the relationship between alcohol consumption and disease risk is a complex one. They emphasize the need to incorporate into alcohol research the many different and complex components of drinking patterns, such as the frequency and setting of consumption," said Stranges.
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More on Health Care Costs of Alcohol Problems
Wednesday, June 16, 2004
Sparks could ban beer cans at Victorian Square events
Reno Gazette Journal, NV, June 16, 2004
First it was requiring drinkers to wear wristbands. Now it’s banning the ubiquitous can of beer.
In the ongoing effort to curb public drunkenness and underage drinking, the Sparks City Council is considering two ordinances that would outlaw alcoholic beverages in metal containers at Victorian Square special events.
City Manager Shaun Carey said if passed, the laws would help police better identify illegal drinkers and provide for the safety of event patrons. Full beer cans could be thrown and hurt someone, he said.
The city already requires bars on Victorian Avenue that sell beer and other alcoholic beverages from outdoor booths or windows to require proof of age and issue wristbands to verify customers have been checked.
“We are just trying to maintain a family atmosphere on Victorian Square,” Carey said. “We believe these modifications will improve the success of our events and protect our young people.”
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Colbert County, AL, Commissioners Deny Liquor License For A Shoals Night Club
WAFF, AL, June 16, 2004
Liquor license denied. The owners of El Lugar De Las Estrellas won't be able to serve alcohol.
Tuesday night the Colbert County Commission voted unanimously against the liquor license because of safety concerns.
Residents are worried if alcohol is served, the chances of drunk driving accidents will go up. Since the club is located at the bottom of a hill, county commissioners say visibility would be poor especially for drivers trying to pull out of the club. Plus, there wouldn't be enough officers patrolling the area because the sheriff's department is stretched too thin.
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More on Alcohol Outlet Density
Gautier Council to debate alcohol use in city parks
Pascagoula Mississippi Press, MS, June 15, 2004
The Gautier City Counci, MS, l will decide tonight whether to ban the use of alcohol from all public locations or only those that host youth activities. The council has two choices in changing the city's alcohol use ordinance: Either to ban all open containers of alcoholic beverages in all public areas or only at Bacot Park, Buddy Davis Softball Park and the Jackson County Sports Complex.
Gautier Planning Director Ralph Hode has recommended the use and sale of alcohol be kept away from youth sports activities. He said it's important that young people not be subjected to alcohol use in close proximity to their activities.
"Either one of them are acceptable," Hode said. "One is more difficult to manage than the other. ...To have an open container at the boat ramp or to have an open container at a family picnic, the mayor and City Council will have to make a decision on whether or not that's something they want to enforce."
Gautier resident Wanda Payton, who has two daughters --LaWanda and Naim -- attending the Jackson and George Counties Boys and Girls Clubs' Gautier Unit at Bacot Park, said she hopes the council bans alcohol at that park and the other two. She said the use of alcohol can influence young children.
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More on Changing the Alcohol Environment at Public Events
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
High, and at Risk
Los Angeles Times, June 13, 2004
Next weekend's gay pride festivities in Los Angeles are likely to be the
usual rollicking celebration of battles won and hardships overcome. The gay community is rightfully proud of its response to the first decades of the AIDS epidemic. And we have reason to rejoice in ongoing civil rights advances. But, as we celebrate, there is still a vexing problem we need to come to terms with: the centrality of drugs and alcohol to gay culture.
In predominately gay neighborhoods, bars and clubs are everywhere. And city governments dependent on tax revenues from these businesses have little incentive to consider their effects....Perhaps the time has come for a moratorium on new liquor licenses in heavily gay communities, along with leadership at the local level in developing social alternatives to bars and clubs.
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Committee to recommend ban on alcohol advertising
Ireland Online, Ireland, June 15, 2004
The Oireachtas committee on health and children is set to recommend a ban on alcohol advertising within three years in an effort to curb alcohol abuse among young Irish people.
In a report due to be published today, the committee will also recommend that the Government campaign for such a ban at EU level.
The proposals are among a range of recommendations that also include a ban on alcohol firms sponsoring sporting events, a doubling of taxes on so-called “alcopops” and price controls for soft drinks in pubs to encourage people to choose a non-alcoholic option.
The committee’s proposals are wide-ranging and are likely to meet stiff opposition from drinks firms, sporting organizations, publicans and other parties.
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Monday, June 14, 2004
Alcohol Abuse Up, but Alcoholism Down
Associated Press, June 11, 2004
Alcohol abuse is up in America - sharply for most groups - a government study said Friday. At the same time alcoholism was down.
Some 4.65 percent of the adult population reported alcohol abuse in 2001-2002, up from 3.03 percent a decade earlier, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reported.
During the same period, the share of the population who were judged to be alcoholics slipped from 4.38 percent to 3.81 percent of people aged 18 and over, the institute said.
What is surprising, then, is that the prevalence of alcohol abuse increased in the face of slightly declining rates of heavy drinking," said the research team led by Bridget F. Grant of the institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health
See full text of article
Absolut bust
San Francisco Examiner, CA, June 10, 2004
Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly has filed suit against San Mateo merchant Wine Globe, which owns and manages the Web site www.wineglobe.com. Three other non-Massachusetts online retailers are also being sued -- including wine.com in San Francisco -- after Reilly's office completed a sting operation with the help of the state's Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission and several Massachusetts college students younger than 21.
"Alcohol can be lethal when placed in the wrong hands," Reilly said in a press release. "We have to do everything we can to keep alcohol away from our kids until they are old enough to make responsible decisions about its use."
The Alcoholic Beverage Control is conducting an investigation into Wine Globe to see if it should be penalized for selling to minors under California's laws.
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Film censors target smoking and drinking on screen to protect children's health
Independent, UK - Jun 12, 2004
Film censors are considering new measures to protect children's health by clamping down on Hollywood scenes of drinking and smoking, The Independent on Sunday has learnt.
In future, tobacco and alcohol could be included alongside sex and violence when the film board classifies new movies - a step which could ban children from watching films where heavy smoking is portrayed.
The British Board of Film Classification has included smoking and drinking in a list of activities that could be covered in new guidelines for age restrictions that will come into force later this year. A final decision on whether films that include smoking will be rated at 15-plus is expected within the next few months following a consultation exercise.
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More on Alochol Ads and Youth
Friday, June 11, 2004
Graduation Parties And Alcohol
Don't Mix
WNEM (MI), Fri, Jun 11, 2004
With the end of the school year comes graduation, and then the graduation parties
where alcoholic beverages are often made available to teenagers by parents
who are normally law abiding citizens. But now there is a new initiative underway
to help keep Mid-Michigan graduates safe.
Law enforcement officials report that alcohol consumption
at graduation parties is getting out of hand. That's why
Midland County is cracking down on underage drinking, and
implementing the "Fences" program to educates people
about the dangers of drinking at a young age.
TV5 has learned that if you're caught serving alcohol to
someone underage, you could face penalties ranging from a
fine to possible jail time. Last year, Midland County law
enforcement arrested 550 drunk drivers, and responded to
217 loud party calls in Midland County alone.
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on Holding Parents Responsible for Teen Drinking Parties
Meeting to tackle underage
drinking
Bend Bulletin (OR), Fri, Jun 11, 2004
Alarming incidents involving youth and alcohol have spurred Jefferson County
leaders to hold a special meeting on underage drinking next week.
Concerned the community's adults are sending mixed messages
to its teens, the group will discuss ways to tackle what
has long been a pervasive problem throughout the nation.
The meeting will take place next Wednesday at the county
Fire Hall...
...Local officials say alcohol is easy to get for any teens
who want it. Some hire people 21 and older to purchase it
for them, or ask older siblings to do it. Others break into
their parents' liquor cabinet. And still others get it direct
from parents who provide it willingly.
Such parents are a big cause of the problem, said Gary Carlton,
principal of Madras High School.
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on Alcohol and Youth
Life, liberty and pursuit of
a six-pack
Omaha World-Herald (NE), Fri, Jun 11, 2004
A Fourth of July picnic with hot dogs, chips, potato salad - but no beer - struck
Omaha-area grocers, Lincoln caterers and officials in both cities as downright
un-American.
With the holiday falling this year on a Sunday, cities and towns across Nebraska
are pondering whether to ease up for the day on local bans against selling
alcoholic beverages before noon.
The Sunday restrictions are set by local governments, said Mary Messman, of
the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission. Some are seeking exceptions for the
holiday, Messman said, while others are holding firm.
In Omaha, No Frills, Hy-Vee, Baker's and a number of convenience stores are
seeking special permits to sell alcohol that morning. The Omaha City Law Department
is drafting an ordinance to allow the special one-time permits.
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full text of article
Thursday, June 10, 2004
Louisiana Bill closes teen
drinking loophole
2-The Advocate (LA), Thu, Jun 10, 2004
A Senate panel Tuesday advanced a House-passed bill that would eliminate a
legal loophole that allows underage teens to party with alcohol at private
homes.
House Bill 872 by Rep. Daniel Martiny, R-Kenner, would
eliminate the exception in the state law that allows revelers
under the age of 21 to possess and consume alcohol at a private
residence.
Murphy Painter, state Alcohol and Tobacco Control commissioner,
said the legislation was prompted by an incident involving
underage drinking at a private home in Ascension Parish.
"The sheriff there was having trouble coming up with
something they could charge people with," Painter said.
But Painter said some prosecutors, sheriffs and police chiefs
are hesitant to raid private underage parties because of
the state law's exception for private residences.
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on Holding Parents Responsible for Teen Drinking Parties
Responsible Ads on Drinking
- EDITORIAL
Christian Science Monitor, Thu, Jun 10, 2004
Television ads that promote "responsible" drinking and are produced
by the alcoholic beverage industry are far less prevalent than ads for those
products. In fact, the ratio was less than 1 to 200 during the year 2002, according
to Georgetown University's Center on Alcohol Marketing
and Youth.
"Responsibility" ads carry important messages
- such as warnings about drinking and driving and the need
for drinkers to use a designated driver. But between 2001
and 2002, the number of those ads dropped by 46 percent,
while the number of alcohol commercials went up a disappointing
39 percent.
The alcoholic beverage industry can help such a campaign
by paying for more public service messages on responsible
drinking.
See
full Editorial
Massachusetts Sues Four Online
Wine Retailers for Illegal Sales and Shipping
Wine Spectator, Thu, Jun 10, 2004
Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly is suing four online retailers for
selling alcoholic beverages to minors and violating the state's liquor laws.
His move comes only two weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court decided to hear two
cases that could shape the future of direct-to-consumer wine shipments, and forces
opposed to online alcohol sales are seeking to use the Massachusetts lawsuits
to bolster their arguments.
During a sting operation organized by Reilly and the state Alcohol Beverages
Control Commission (ABCC) and conducted in 2002 and 2004, five underage volunteers
purchased wine, beer and spirits via the Internet using their own credit cards
and Massachusetts shipping addresses, the lawsuits allege.
The suits name four out-of-state retailers: Sherry-Lehmann Wines and Spirits
in New York; WineGlobe in San Mateo, Calif.; Queen Anne Wine and Spirits Emporium
in Teaneck, N.J.; and Clubs of America in Lakemore, Ill. None were licensed
to sell alcoholic beverages in Massachusetts. The state, like nearly half the
states in the country, bans interstate shipments of alcohol directly to consumers.
See
full text of article
Wednesday, June 9, 2004
Battle for beer supremacy comes to a head in China
Detroit News, MI, June 9, 2004
SHANGHAI, China- In the latest skirmish, Anheuser-Busch defeated SABMiller last week for control of Harbin Brewery Group Ltd., a century-old beer maker in the northeastern city of Harbin.
The maker of Budweiser, Bud Ice and other well-known beers grabbed a controlling 37.4 percent share in Harbin Brewery, making an automatic bid for Harbin that topped SABMiller’s offer by nearly 30 percent.
The Chinese management approved the U.S. company’s offer, and London-based SABMiller bowed out, agreeing to sell its 28 percent stake to Anheuser-Busch for $211 million.
The fight over Harbin Brewery reflects the surging foreign interest in China’s beer industry, which surpassed the United States in 2002 as the world’s biggest.
Chinese beer sales are growing by more than 5 percent a year - a fast clip compared to stagnant U.S. and European markets. And the potential for growth seems huge - the average Chinese drinks just 38 pints a year, compared with 176.4 pints for Americans, according to industry estimates.
Anheuser-Busch has launched an advertising push for the thirsty summer season, plastering Shanghai subway cars with posters of red and white, dripping cold Bud bottles. Neon Budweiser signs festoon beer gardens downtown, and Bud billboards are planted in obscure local housing compounds.
See full text of article
Anheuser-Busch Unveils Low-Carb Beverage
Associated Press, June 08, 2004
ST. LOUIS - With the menu of low-carb foods ever growing, Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. believes consumers perhaps need something fruity, carb-friendly and alcoholic to wash it all down. Enter the world's largest brewer's latest concoction: A black cherry-flavored beverage with a splash of vanilla, packing just 2.6 grams of carbohydrates and 96 calories per 12-ounce serving.
The St. Louis-based brewer bills Bacardi Silver Low-Carb Black Cherry - launched nationwide June 1 but formally announced Tuesday - as the industry's lowest-carb among players in the segment of liquor-branded flavored malt beverages.
The category has seen its ups and downs, rebounding a bit after a double-digit dropoff in sales last year. And the fact that no one has dominance in the segment may explain Anheuser-Busch's push to broaden its lineup, said Benj Steinman of the Beer Marketer's Insights trade magazine.
"It's all a game of line extensions right now," he said. "The only thing that's generating incremental volume is new flavors. New flavors is where the action is."
Anheuser-Busch's foray into the low-carb, spirit-branded market came a couple of months after rival Miller Brewer Co. debuted its SKYY Sport, a citrus-flavored beverage with 15 grams of carbs and 160 calories.
It is slightly more female than beer. That's our thinking," he said.
See full text of article
More on the Industry Pushing Low-Carb Alcohol
Heinrich wants to stop liquor sales near treatment facilities
Albuquerque Business Journal, June 7, 2004
Albuquerque City Councilor Martin Heinrich, District 6, announced Monday the introduction of an amendment to the city's code of ordinances that would prohibit liquor vending within 500 feet of the city's substance abuse and treatment program sites.
"It is entirely unproductive to have bars and sobering services centers next door to one another," Heinrich said in a statement. "That's not good planning and it's not good policy."
The ordinance attempts to address concerns of treatment service providers that the proximity of liquor vending establishments creates issues for those using their treatment facilities.
The announcement is the latest in a series of efforts by Heinrich to address issues of alcohol and substance abuse within Albuquerque and especially in his home district.
See full text of article
More on Recovery Communities Teaming with Prevention Advocates
Investigators enlist students' help in online alcohol sale sting
Boston Herald, MA, June 8, 2004
At the direction of investigators, underage college students ordered dozens of bottles of beer, wine and alcohol from online retailers and had the booze shipped to their homes - helping the state crack down on Internet liquor sales to minors.
From that sting, four online retailers that did not have state licenses were sued by the state this week for failing to verify the ages of their customers. And three shippers - FedEx, UPS and DHL - now face an administrative hearing for allegedly delivering the alcohol to minors, Attorney General Thomas Reilly said Tuesday.
Another three liquor retailers were referred to state liquor authorities for allegedly selling to minors. ``I've seen what has happened to children when alcohol gets in the way. I've seen lives ruined. I've seen lives lost,'' Reilly said.
Reilly and Treasurer Tim Cahill, whose office oversees the Alcohol Beverages Control Commission, announced the sting while standing near a display of the alcohol bought by the youngsters: 50 bottles of wine, four six-packs of beer and more than a dozen types of hard alcohol, from tequila to vodka to brandy.
It was remarkably easy for the youngsters to buy the alcohol and have it shipped to them, Reilly said. It was sometimes delivered without a demand for proof of age, and at other times was simply left on their doorstep.
See full text of article
Tuesday, June 8, 2004
Task Force Targets Alcohol Purchasers
New University, CA, June 8, 2004
The UCI Police Department, in conjunction with the City of Irvine Police Department, is attempting to crack down on underage drinking by launching a new Alcohol and Beverage Control Task Force to find and arrest adults who purchase alcohol for underage persons.
Prompted by a $50,000 federal grant, the program is designed to improve training of local and campus law enforcement personnel in dealing with problems of illegal alcohol consumption among minors, especially on campus. The funding will be used toward assisting with undercover operations and providing extra facilities for training. Consequently, UCI, along with UC Berkeley and UC Santa Barbara, has established the program in order to keep illegal alcohol consumption under control.
Prompted by a $50,000 federal grant, the program is designed to improve training of local and campus law enforcement personnel in dealing with problems of illegal alcohol consumption among minors, especially on campus.
The program, already four months in effect, is organized by Sgt. Shaun Devlin of the UCIPD. Devlin explains the purpose of the program. “Basically, what we’re doing is stopping it at the point of sale,” Devlin said.
However, a fourth-year social science major who has bought alcohol for parties believes that the issue is not with trying to catch underage drinking, but rather with the society. “The problem is not necessarily older people handing alcohol to younger people. That is one of the narrow slices of what the major problem is,” he said. “The bigger problem is American culture, where you have young people going out and binge drinking and having drinking parties where they go to the point of being wasted, which is one of the social problems in the United States that we need to address.”
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More on Preventing Alcohol Problems on College Campuses
Want to make a difference on campus? Start here.
Monday, June 7, 2004
Tenderloin (SF) teens pursue the positive, Youth group strives to counter culture of booze, cigarettes
The San Francisco Chronicle, June 5, 2004
As a member of Youth with a Vengeance, a youth leadership program for Tenderloin residents, Nhey hopes to steer other neighborhood kids from the hazards of underage drinking and smoking. The program's eight members recently transformed a neighborhood corner store into a showcase for the Tenderloin's diversity and culture by replacing the alcohol and tobacco advertisements that dominated the store walls with positive pictures of the neighborhood and its residents.
"Too many kids in the community are affected," said Nhey. "There are a lot of (alcohol and cigarette) sales. People can be influenced by these advertisements."
"If we can change one store, maybe another store will follow," said group member Vy Le, 15.
Mohamed Alhaj, the store's owner, said he didn't think twice about complying with the kids' request to take down neon signs, posters and banners that glorified alcohol and tobacco use.
The leadership program is a collaborative effort by the Indochinese Housing Development community on Eddy Street and the Youth Leadership Institute, a national nonprofit that works with community-based youth programs.
A few tobacco ads remain at the store's front door, but the interior is advertising free.
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Underage drinking gets heightened attention
MSNBC/Union Leader, NH, June 6, 2004
New Hampshire is getting serious about underage drinking this summer.
New enforcement efforts, public awareness campaigns, a party host law, and a statewide strategy group are all targeting a problem that officials say is costing the state more than $200 million a year in crashes, injuries, property crime, violence and alcohol treatment.
State officials estimate underage drinkers consumed 17.5 percent of all alcohol sold in New Hampshire in 2001 - a total of $95 million in sales. They estimate 63,000 young people under 21 drink every year.
Indeed, New Hampshire has already enacted many of the steps to reduce underage alcohol access that were recommended in a landmark Institute of Medicine study that was issued last fall. Among them: Retail compliance checks, keg registration, zero tolerance DWI laws for those under 21, and, new this spring, criminal sanctions for those who host underage drinking parties.
New Futures, a Portsmouth nonprofit advocacy organization, is working with other stakeholders to develop a statewide strategy to combat underage drinking. Educators, policy-makers, state officials and law enforcement leaders were among those who attended a recent working session in Concord to kick off the plan.
See full text of article
More on Youth and Alcohol
Sales show more people drinking the hard stuff
Tennessean, TN, June 5, 2004
The amount of liquor sold nationwide was up about 4% in 2003 as both young Americans and women in particular become more liberal in their spirits drinking. Sales revenue was up 5.3%, reflecting more volume but also more expensive liquor.
In 2003, Americans spent more money on liquor than ever, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States. Supplier revenue was $13.8 billion last year, a 5.3% increase from the year before.
''Cocktail culture has really taken off here, and it really hasn't been that way since before Prohibition,'' said Shawn Kelley, a spokeswoman for the trade organization. ''Spirits are no longer considered taboo.''
Women are more likely to down a mixed drink as well.
The organization was particularly pleased with the HBO television show Sex and the City, whose New York single women were fashionably dressed and touting martinis much of the time.
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More on Women and Alcohol
Bar Czar' Sought To Keep Eye On Taverns
Wisconsin State Journal, WI, June 5, 2004
A "bar czar" may be watching Madison taverns as the city looks for ways to reduce police costs because of drinking.
The bar czar, or license coordinator, is among a series of suggestions Acting Police Chief Noble Wray makes in a memo to Mayor Dave Cieslewicz to reduce the nearly $1.4 million a year police spend responding to alcohol-related calls Downtown.
On Friday, Cieslewicz shared the memo with City Council and Alcohol License Review Committee members and asked them to consider new alcohol policies to prevent disturbances and violent crimes.
"The idea of the bar czar is to get ahead of some of the problems by first bringing some discussion about best practices," said Mario Mendoza, the mayor's police liaison.
"As the Department's report correctly indicates, effective alcohol policy requires the involvement of a variety of sources, not only the Police Department," Cieslewicz wrote.
Susan Crowley, director of PACE, UW-Madison's effort to stop binge drinking, agreed that alcohol-related crime is a community problem that can't be solved just by police.
See full text of article
More on Women and Alcohol
More the Environmental Prevention Model
Friday,
June 04, 2004
PA School faulted for shot
glass prom favors
Post Intelligencer, WA, Fri, June 4, 2004
SEWICKLEY, Pa. -- Even after getting hard-hitting lessons on the dangers of
underage drinking, Avonworth Senior High School students selected shot glasses
for boys and champagne flutes for girls as prom party favors.
Parents and police are livid over the choice, which the
principal went along with.
"They spent the whole week making children aware of
the dangers of alcohol. Then this contradictory message came
through in the party favors," said Gloria Newman, who
found an embossed champagne glass in her daughter's room
the morning after last week's dance.
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full text of article
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on Alcohol and Youth
The Beer Wars
Concord Monitor, NH, June 4, 2004
It's bad enough that you can't turn on the TV without seeing some politician
spin an opponent's record into an attack ad. Now even the beer commercials
have gone negative.
Take the Budweiser ad where one lizard tells another about
a beer company that "rhymes with Niller." Later
the spokes-animals for the King of Beers dub the competition's
light beer the Queen of Carbs. This, in addition to being
lame stuff for 8-year-olds in a schoolyard, is the barley
and hops equivalent of saying Miller wants to raise your
taxes.
You know where this is headed. To the courts, naturally.
Round One began last week in Milwaukee, when a federal judge
ordered Anheuser-Busch (the maker of Budweiser) to pull posters
saying Miller is owned by South African Breweries. (Miller,
though still run out of Milwaukee, is owned by a London-based
spinoff of South African Breweries.) The same judge will
hear arguments later this month about the "Queen of
Carbs" ads.
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full text of article
The Wasted Years
Universitybusiness.com, June 4, 2004
College presidents say that changing the culture of drinking on campus has been
their gravest challenge. Whether they are up to the task is another question
altogether.
If the basics of K-12 education are the three R's--reading, 'riting, and 'rithmetic--are
the three V's of higher education vandalism, vomit, and violence? It's a horrendous
image, but the fact of the matter is that these campus horrors are on the rise,
and the statistics tell all...
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article
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on Preventing Alcohol Problems on College Campuses
Anheuser-Busch makes bid for Harbin
Business Journal, WI, June 4, 2004
Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. has offered $5.58 per share in Hong Kong dollars
for the outstanding shares of Harbin Brewery Group Ltd. in China, a nearly 30
percent premium over what Miller Brewing Co. owner SABMiller plc is offering,
Anheuser-Busch said Tuesday.
The offer would result in Anheuser-Busch owning more than 50 percent of the
issued voting share capital of China's fourth-largest brewer.
St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch Cos. is the world's largest brewer. It also
owns a stake in Tsingtao, China's largest brewer; a 29 percent stake in Harbin
Brewery Group; and owns 98 percent of the Budweiser Wuhan International Brewing
Co., in Wuhan, China, where Budweiser is brewed.
See
full text of article
Thursday, June 3, 2004
Lawyer drops suit against Coors in man’s death
Reno Gazette Journal, NV ,June 2, 2004
After being threatened with sanctions for frivolous litigation, a Reno lawyer said Tuesday he has dropped a lawsuit against Coors Brewing Co. filed for the mother of a young man who died in a car wreck while driving drunk.
Ken McKenna, a lawyer for Jodie Pisco of Reno, said he had filed the suit to challenge at the Supreme Court level a Nevada law that protects alcohol providers from being sued.
But when a lawyer for Coors threatened him and Pisco with sanctions, they decided to back off, he said.
“After doing some research, we decided that the Supreme Court is unlikely to be inclined politically to overturn the protection for alcohol distributors,” McKenna
said.
“Her motivation all along was to shed some light on the fact that alcohol companies do, in fact, advertise their products to minors,” he
said.
The suit filed April 14 in Washoe District Court claimed Colorado-based Coors
was liable for Ryan Pisco’s death because it promotes underage drinking
and encourages illegal alcohol consumption at sporting events, a claim the company
adamantly denies.
See full text of article
More on the Other Lawsuits Against the Alcohol Industry
Alcohol-free youth, whose responsibility?
Silverton Appeal Tribune, OR, June 3, 2004
It’s a community and parent responsibility to uphold laws and norms that support young people maturing into adulthood unscathed by “rites of passage” that can lead to alcohol poisoning, blackouts, unwanted sexual advances or rape, and near-miss, injury, and fatal intoxicated driver crashes. We cannot put all responsibility onto law enforcement. As parents, community members, and owners of stores that sell alcohol, have you done all you can to support and ensure youth make healthy decisions about alcohol? How easily accessible is alcohol in your home, at your children’s friends’ homes, or elsewhere in the community?
Over the last 12 months, a countywide task force has been working to gain the support of local law enforcement jurisdictions, alcohol vendors, and the community to enforce regular, frequent and consistent monitoring of alcohol sales to prevent minors from purchasing. Currently, CERV (Committed Enforcement for Responsible Vendors) has commitments from the Salem, Keizer, Woodburn, Stayton, and Marion County Sheriff law enforcement agencies to participate in CERV activities, such as conducting quarterly minor decoy operations to ensure that licensed alcohol vendors are properly training their staff to check ID and ensure that minors cannot purchase alcohol. Similar efforts have reduced tobacco sales to minors by 31.5 percent in five years in Salem and Keizer.
The CERV model focuses on engaging neighborhoods, training law enforcement as alcohol enforcement specialists, conducting quarterly countywide minor decoy operations, and promoting OLCC’s Responsible Vendor Program.
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Teens Victimized by Upswing in Alcohol Ads, OTC Drug Abuse
Agape Press, MS, June 3, 2004
Alcohol companies are putting far more ad revenue into their product ads than they are into encouraging consumers to use their products responsibly. At the same time, the Partnership for a Drug Free America is warning of a growing number of forms of prescription drug abuse among teens.
A new study says 2002 saw a dramatic increase in alcohol product advertising and a sharp decline in "responsibility" ads. The study by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University finds that there were 226 product ads for every ad that the alcohol industry aired warning of negative things that might happen from consuming their product. Anheuser Busch, the largest alcohol advertiser on TV, ran nearly 45,000 product ads in 2002.
Dr. David Jernigan, the Center's research director. Says the spike in product ads can be attributed to a number of factors. One factor, he says, is that the Olympic Games were held that year.
"There's always a bump-up in advertising in the Olympic years," Jernigan explains. "Also that's the year that the alcohol companies were really trying to push out these new flavored malt beverages -- like 'Bacardi Silver,' or 'Smirnoff Ice,' or 'Mike's Hard Lemonade.'"
Jernigan says a national media campaign about alcohol is a solution to the obvious -- alcohol companies cannot be the ones sending a responsibility message about their product. In 2002, for every dollar spent on responsibility ads, the alcohol industry spent $99 on ads touting their products.
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Wednesday, June 2, 2004
Seattle may expand restrictions on cheap alcohol sales
KING5.com, WA, May 31, 2004
This week, Seattle City Council members are expected to review steps toward expanding the restrictions on the sale of cheap alcohol to neighborhoods such as Capitol Hill, the International District, First Hill, the Central Area, Downtown, Belltown, Queen Anne and parts of Wallingford and the University District.
Some vendors at Pike Place Market believe expanding city restrictions on cheap-alcohol are long over due.
The city would ask stores to take steps to curtail public drunkenness. If there's no improvement in six months, they city could ask the state liquor control board to enact restrictions on the sale of cheap booze.
Advocates of the restrictions on cheap alcohol say it's only one piece of the puzzle. They agree more treatment is needed. Starting Tuesday, Seattle City Council members are expected to review a plan to restrict the sale of cheap alcohol to more neighborhoods.
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City may raise the bar on alcohol rules
San Marcos Daily Record, TX, June 2, 2004
Selling alcohol for on-premise consumption in San Marcos could soon be a more complicated business. San Marcos bars must obtain a specific use permit (SUP) before they can sell alcoholic beverages, and city rules must be followed in order to keep the permit.
Amendments discussed by the City Council last week could increase the number of "penalty points" that businesses could be charged with for failing to adhere to the rules.
Proposals include lowering the blood alcohol level at which establishments must refuse to sell to intoxicated patrons. The sale of alcohol to a minor and allowing riotous or disorderly public behavior could also affect conditions of their TABC license and their specific use permit.
"Basically, a demerit system is in place," City Manager Dan O'Leary said. "Six or more penalty points and the owner must appear before the Planning and Zoning Commission. Their permit could potentially be revoked."
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Alcohol Sellers Face Backlash in European Union
Los Angeles Times, CA, May 30, 2004
DUBLIN - Alcoholic beverage companies have traditionally resisted calls for uniform drinking regulations across the European Union, arguing that cultural attitudes vary across different markets. But alarm at the growing incidence of binge drinking is forcing even the most reluctant EU governments to consider changes to the way the industry polices itself.
A year ago, when Bertie Ahern's frustrations first surfaced, the Irish prime minister used a speech to the European Brewery Convention to challenge the industry to tackle binge drinking. He said that if not for EU internal market rules, his government would ban the sale of "alcopops," such as Smirnoff Ice and Bacardi Breezer, and suggested that companies refuse to "produce, import, distribute or sell shot-type drinks or sweet fruit alcoholic drinks, which are clearly targeted at young people."
The real concern of the industry is that the Irish government may be planning more draconian steps, perhaps even banning alcohol advertising.
Ireland's changing demographic profile means beverage makers must increasingly pitch their advertising effort toward the younger drinker. Donald Helme, chief executive of Grey Helme, a subsidiary of New York ad agency Grey Advertising, recalls that in earlier Diageo ads, drinking Guinness was depicted as a sort of rite of passage and only properly appreciated by the more discerning, more mature consumer. In recent years, faced with falling sales and the competition posed by alcopops, even Guinness is geared toward a younger drinker.
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Tuesday, June 1, 2004
Court uncorks a case of wine and free trade
Tennessean, TN, June 1, 2004
...The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to settle a constitutional conflict that has kept direct sales of alcohol bottled up for many imbibers.
The Constitution's commerce clause protects interstate trade. When the commodity being traded is alcohol, however, that freedom goes out the window. The 21st Amendment, which repealed Prohibition, gives states authority to regulate alcohol.
Twenty states, including Tennessee, now prohibit the direct shipment of wine to consumers across state lines. Those state bans have become increasingly irritating to consumers as Internet sales have tremendously increased direct sales of all other goods. The bans have also been particularly vexing to the growing number of small wineries. The large wineries sell their products through distributors so they are relatively unaffected by the no-shipping laws, but smaller wineries that market their goods through the Internet find themselves locked out of many states.
As these bans on alcohol shipping have been challenged in court, states have argued that direct shipment of wine would encourage underage drinking...
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Alcohol at sports park on hold
Redding Record Searchlight, CA, May 29, 2004
Neighbor of Big League Dreams objects to liquor license request. The Big League Dreams sports park might open without suds in late June.
A neighbor has protested the east Redding park's liquor license application, said Robert Farrar, Redding district supervisor for the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC).
State officials have yet to deny Big League Dreams a liquor license after a protest, Odekirk said.
ABC officers will broker a possible deal between the neighbor, who wasn't identified, and Big League Dreams, Farrar said. The agreement could include limiting alcohol sales hours to ensure neighborhood peace.
An administrative law judge will hear the dispute if the two sides can't agree, Farrar said. That step could push the park's liquor license back to October or November -- well past the park's celebrity-laden Aug. 1 grand opening.
The neighbor or Big League Dreams may appeal the judge's decision. An appeal could keep sports park taps dry until late 2005.
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Chandler city councils says no to wine sales at Target
KNXV, AZ, May 29, 2004
The Chandler City Council is putting a cork in idea of allowing a Target store to sell wine.
The council voted 5-to-2 this week to deny a use permit and recommended denial of a liquor license for the Chandler Target. A city use permit would have allowed the Target to sell alcohol.
Target has applied for a state liquor license which would have allowed it to sell only beer and wine. Councilman Dean Anderson says the vote was not a vote against the Target store. He just believes there is already a proliferation of liquor sales in the area.
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