Alcohol News: September 2005

Underage drinking affects military readiness
DC Military.com, MD, September 29, 2005
A Sailor slaps down a form of ID next to a 12-pack of beer and looks at the store clerk for approval. He's ready to get his weekend started, until the clerk denies the sale. . . . Smith said a person wearing a military uniform is be held to a higher standard because he represents America. Service members, he said, should take pride in their occupation and show it in their daily behavior. "We [as service members] have sworn to uphold and defend the Constitution and uphold means leading by example through our own personal conduct," Smith said.

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More on Responsible Beverage Service

Danger on tap: combination of beer, sports has long been a volatile brew
Orlando Sentinel News, FL, September 30, 2005
What came first, beer or spectator sports? It's the closest thing we have to the chicken-or-the-egg debate.... Baseball players were being used as spokesmen for beer companies back in the 1870s. When the National League tried to outlaw ballpark beer sales in 1881, it prompted the formation of baseball's American Association -- nicknamed the beer and whiskey league -- which allowed alcohol sales and cemented the ties between American sports and beer. It's hard today to find a professional sports venue where beer isn't sold and enjoyed. "It's the quintessential family beverage at sports venues,'' Bradford ...

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Making Players and Fans Safer with Responsible Beverage Service

Students unclear on alcohol use policies: ambiguity remains in underage drinking rules
Johns Hopkins Newsletter, MD, September 30, 2005
In light of the recent revision of the University's policy on off-campus conduct, many students living in the greater Homewood area have called attention to the lack of clarity regarding how to handle instances of alcohol poisoning, especially cases involving underage drinkers. While fraternity members are told by their national headquarters that they should bring any one who has drank too much to the hospital, they say that the school has never specifically told them what actions to take. Undergraduates are also unclear as to whom the administration will hold accountable when the incident is brought to their attention.

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More on Campus Drinking

Coors Field faces suit over 'safe attendance'
USA Today, September 27, 2005
What was supposed to be a fun-filled evening for a father and his son at the baseball park quickly went south when fans behind them started behaving badly. . . .Black, who has not returned to a Rockies game since the incident, has joined with Marin Institute, an alcohol industry watchdog, and MADD. He also has received community support from other families who've alleged abuse at Coors Field from intoxicated fans. . . ."We believe the Colorado Rockies and (vendor) Aramark did not use proper alcohol serving policies and proper security policies that should have kept this event from escalating into criminal assaults after they were notified," Black said.

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Eject Aramark From the Game
What about Super Bowl?

J.C. Penney decides T-shirts with beer logos are for men
New York Times, September 26, 2005
The back-to-school sales push did not turn out to be happy hour for J. C. Penney. In the company's Aug. 28 sale circular that was inserted in Sunday newspapers across the country, a "Back to School 2005" logo is superimposed on a T-shirt promoting Guinness beer.. . . "There have been alcohol-branded T-shirts in stores for a long time, but what's new here is the brazenness of J. C. Penney marketing this as a back-to-school product," said Amon Rappaport, a spokesman for the Marin Institute, a group based in San Rafael, Calif., that monitors the alcohol industry. "It begs the question of why is J. C. Penney doing the alcohol industry's dirty work of marketing to kids." .

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Back to school with Jack Daniels?

'Alcopops' fuel debate on teen drinking, taxes
Enterprise-Record, CA, September 23, 2005
The swift passage of a bill on "alcopops" shows the power the alcohol industry has in the state Legislature, according to a group that says it exists to monitor the industry and reduce drinking problems.. . .Amon Rappaport, communications director for the Marin Institute -- an alcohol-industry watchdog group based in San Rafael -- said he hopes the governor will veto the bill and the state will raise the tax on "alcopops" to the same level as hard liquor.

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Fight alcopops legislation
More on the "booze boys"

New NH Roadmap on underage drinking says everyone must
pitch in
Join Together, MA, September 26, 2005
To cut down on the problems of underage alcohol use it will take a collective effort from all corners of society, according to a new state roadmap issued today to tackle the issue. . . The report, "Recommendations for Success: New Hampshire's Strategy to Reduce Underage Alcohol Problems," makes New Hampshire one of the first states in the nation to lay out a single state strategy on the subject.

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More about New Futures
Solutions to Community Alcohol Problems

New laws take effect Saturday
Billings Gazette, MT, September 26, 2005
Bans on open containers of alcohol in vehicles and smoking in most public places dominate the list of new and changed laws taking effect Saturday, although welfare payments and drunken driving penalties also will be affected by new legislation. ...Although cities and towns in the state forbid open alcoholic beverage containers in vehicles, no prohibition has applied to highways before. ... Other alcohol-related law changes include increased penalties for five or more drunken driving convictions and driving with a license suspended or revoked for drunken driving or refusing a breath test. The state will also try to crack down on underaged drinking...

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More on policies that save lives

If the children can drink Uncola, what about unbeer?
New York Times, NY, September 19, 2005
Kidsbeer, a Japanese soft drink bottled and formulated to look like beer, may soon be available throughout Europe, but watchdogs of underage drinking say they will fight any effort to ship it to the United States. The drink, which comes in a brown bottle and is advertised with the slogan "Even kids cannot stand life unless they have a drink," is lager-colored and foams like beer, but tastes like cola. . . . Amon Rappaport, a spokesman for the Marin Institute, an alcohol industry watchdog based in California, said Kidsbeer would "unwittingly play into the alcohol industry's efforts to glamorize drinking and introduce kids to beer." The group criticizes beer product placement in youth-oriented PG-13 movies like "Dodge Ball" and "Hell Boy."

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More on alcohol targeting of girls
More on alcohol advertising and youth

Alcohol remains the most commonly abused substance in America: national survey reveals 55 million people are binge drinkers in the United States
PR Web, September 16, 2005
The annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health released its findings last week and revealed that over 22 percent of the American population (55 million people) ages 12 and older were binge drinkers in the past month. . . . More than 7 million binge drinkers were under the age of 21. . . The survey showed that the age range that participated in the most illicit drug use (18-25) also had the highest rates of alcohol abuse. In this group just over 41 percent were binge drinkers and 12 percent were heavy drinkers.

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Environmental approaches needed to fight alcohol problems
AMA cites need for community-based solutions

AG wants malt drinks yanked
The Salt Lake Tribune, UT, September 19, 2005
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff wants to get low-alcohol malt beverages off grocery store shelves and out of the reach of young, novice drinkers. Shurtleff and Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe have sent letters to attorneys general throughout the United States, saying stricter controls are needed over drinks such as Smirnoff Ice, Bacardi Silver and Jack Daniel's Original Hard Cola, because advertising is enticing underage drinkers to try the beverages.

College students overestimate alcohol consumption
MedPage Today, NJ, September 15, 2005
Blood alcohol levels taken from college students returning from a night on the town were significantly lower than estimates based on the students' own drinking reports, according to a Duke field study. The surprising finding contradicts recent laboratory research that had suggested college students underestimate how much they drink, leading to the possibility that they may have higher blood alcohol levels than they realize. It also came as a surprise, the researchers said, because earlier research indicated that students don't know how many ounces of alcohol make a single drink.

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More on college students and drinking

Parents oppose alcohol-branded clothes: central New York group asks J.C. Penney Co. Inc. to pull the clothing from store
Post Standard, NY, September 14, 2005
"It's all inside" at J.C. Penney Co. Inc., but some Central New York parents wish the national retailer would pull its alcohol-labeled clothing out. Several parents who want to stop underage drinking plan to visit ShoppingTown in DeWitt at 3 p.m. today to push their message that stores shouldn't sell Corona T-shirts, Guinness hats and the like.

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Walking, talking ads for booze (editorial) (free registration required)
Action Alert: back to school with Jack Daniels?
T-shirts encourage high risk drinking

No alcohol sales inside Coliseum
Los Angeles Times, CA, September 14, 2005
An agreement not to sell alcoholic beverages inside the Coliseum during USC home games has been finalized, the general manager of the stadium said Tuesday. The top-ranked Trojans play their home opener Saturday against Arkansas. "We're all set," Pat Lynch said. "We will not be serving." USC President Steven Sample announced in June that the sale and possession of beer or other alcoholic beverages would no longer be allowed because of increased surliness, foul language and other behavior that was harming the atmosphere.

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Stop paying for Super Bowl's secondhand alcohol impacts!
Safety for players and fans

Feeling Blue, A-B gets a few fruity ideas for beer
Advertising Age, September 5, 2005
Desperate to make up for lost time as spirits surge at beer's expense, Anheuser-Bush is going on an unprecedented new-product binge with sweet, fruit-flavored alcoholic beverages aimed at wooing back young adults.

Offering sweet flavors already is drawing fire from industry watchdogs that charge they appeal to underage drinkers. "Blueberry is the flavor of candy or ice cream, not alcohol," said Amon Rappaport, a spokesperson for the Marin Institute.

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More on Anheuser-Busch Companies

Response to teen drinking
Family News In Focus, CO, September 6, 2005
After the American Medical Association released a report saying alcohol is too easy for teenagers to access, the Marin Institute, an alcohol industry and policy watchdog, called on communities to respond to the problem.

Amon Rappaport with the Marin Institute blames advertising for attracting teens to alcohol. He thinks many of the ads target young people.

"People across the country are using the Marin Institute's website and our 'Talk Back' complaint system to file complaints with alcohol producers for irresponsible advertising that they see."

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Watchdog Offers Solutions to Community Alcohol Problems
Alcohol Advertising and Youth

Groups say themed T-shirt not appropriate for school
KTUU Channel 2, AK, September 5, 2005
School is just around the corner and that means many retailers are gearing up with back-to-school sales. However, one of those national retailers is now in hot water for some of the alcohol-themed clothing they are selling.

The local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving isn't the only one questioning the ads. The Marin Institute out of California , another group that works to prevent underage drinking, also has concerns.

"When you've got a major national retailers like J.C. Penney helping Budweiser get a logo on a young person's chest, not only do we know that young people are more likely to be underage drinkers, the ones who own and wear that kind of merchandise, but they become a walk ing billboard all day long," said Laurie Leiber of the Marin Institute.

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Action Alert: Back to School with Jack Daniels?
T-shirts encourage high risk drinking

Don't swallow the spin
San Francisco Chronicle, CA, September 6, 2005
A flavored malt beverage may sound innocuous, even healthy. But these sweetened drinks, which have become a favorite among underage drinkers, are hardly innocuous or healthy. They're alcoholic beverages with an alcohol content of between 4 percent and 6 percent. They have names like Smirnoff Ice, Bacardi Silver and Skyy Blue. Their manufacturers say the flavorings, which make the drinks taste like distilled spirits, constitute only a negligible percentage of the drink.

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More on the marketing alcohol to kids forgivenss act

A-B is one of the area's biggest spenders on lobbying
St. Louis Post-Dispatch, MO, September 10, 2005
Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums, which spent about $9 million combined over the last five years. One of the beer company's top priorities, not surprisingly, is reducing the excise tax on alcohol. Anheuser-Busch's top lobbyist says ... is currently pending before a House subcommittee. Osborne said he was recently told that the committee staff was negotiating with the alcohol industry. "It looks like the industry will have some influence," he said, "and I'm sure the NCAA ad [ban] is something they would like to strip out."

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Bill Aims to Retain Low Tax on Drinks
LA Times, CA, September 6, 2005
Armed with a parliamentary maneuver often used to push controversial bills through the Legislature without debate, an Assembly member is pressing to have sweetened alcohol drinks declared the equivalent of beer so liquor companies can avoid the dramatically higher tax on distilled spirits.

If signed into law, the bill would rebuff Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer, who wants the soda-like beverages to be treated the same as hard liquor, in part because they are especially popular among underage girls.

Sometimes called "alcopop" or flavored malt beverages, the drinks are a hybrid of beer and hard liquor and include Mike's Hard Lemonade, Smirnoff Ice, Bacardi Silver and Skyy Blue.

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