News from The Kingdom

A recent report by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (Youth Exposure to Alcohol Advertising on Television and in National Magazines, 2001 to 2006; December 19, 2007) brings out the following statistics:

Alcohol use is the number-one drug problem among youth. More students in grades 8, 10 and 12 drink alcohol than smoke cigarettes or use illegal drugs. “Alcohol use remains extremely widespread among today’s teenagers. Nearly three quarters of students (72 percent) have consumed alcohol (more than just a few sips) by the end of high school; and about two fifths (39 percent) have done so by 8th grade…. Nearly a fifth (18 percent) of the 8th graders in 2007 report having been drunk at least once in their life” (Overview of Key Findings, 2007, NIH Publication 08-6418, p. 9) (more…)

We are saturated by images and messages designed to influence our attitudes about alcohol. Today’s advertisers not only want to sell us their products; they want to sell us a “lifestyle” based on an idealized image of what our lives will be like if we use their products. How effective would a wine advertisement be if it showed a lonely buyer taking a bottle home, to drink alone while watching television?

But there is another kind of “advertising” that make alcohol be so appealing—the attitudes of families and friends. People around us think of drinking as a necessary part of any successful family/friends gathering or social event. Most of our friends and family associate alcohol with fun and excitement—maybe even as a necessary ingredient for fun and excitement in our lives. Without realizing it, people of all ages fall victim to the glamorization of alcohol—the unrealistic portrayal of its role in a happy and successful life. (more…)