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Under the influence – The damaging effect of alcohol marketing on young people – by The British Medical Association (BMA) September 2009

Following the publication of the BMA’s report Under the Influence – the damaging effect of alcohol marketing on young people, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) renewed calls for tighter regulation of the sale and promotion of alcohol. (Source: Medical News Today, 9/9/09)

All alcohol marketing should be banned, including sponsorship of major sporting and music events, and cut price promotions like happy hours, doctors leaders have warned. A report by the British Medical Association said tough measures were needed to tackle the medical, psychological and social harm caused by excess drinking. (Source: Google Alkohol Alert, 9/9/09) Channel 4 News, 9/8/09

1800 Tequila Is Just the Ticket. When the Los Angeles Lakers won the 2009 NBA Championship in June, the streets outside the Staples Center erupted in violence. Instead of simply celebrating the victory, many fans rioted, a local gas station was looted, a police car was torched, and a bus was vandalized. But here’s the amazing thing about this story: The final game was played on the opposite end of the continent, in Miami, and was not even broadcast at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, as it had been in previous years. According to police, the fans-turned-rioters poured out of the bars surrounding the Staple Center when the game ended, and mayhem ensued.
Given this very recent history, it’s astonishing that the L.A. Lakers would, barely two months later, sign a deal to market 1800 Tequila courtside. Even more incredible is this statement by the team’s Chief Marketing Officer Tim Harris:
“Our goal is to ensure that Lakers games are the most enjoyable and exciting games to watch. Through this groundbreaking partnership, 1800 will provide Lakers fans with the familiar flavor of the super-premium spirit and a variety of beverage choices to enjoy while celebrating courtside, while ensuring that we communicate responsible drinking.” (Source: Marin Institute, 8/23/09) Comment: Just unbelievable.

Drinkers aren’t just bending their elbows: according to a new study, the more alcohol people drink, the more likely they might be to exercise. „Alcohol users not only exercised more than abstainers, but the differential actually increased with more drinking,“ said lead author Michael French, Ph.D. „There is a strong association between all levels of drinking and both moderate and vigorous physical activity. However, these results do not suggest that people should use alcohol to boost their exercise programs, as the study was not designed to determine whether alcohol intake actually caused an increase in exercise.“ (Source: Medical News Today, 9/1/09) Online-Comment: This again is a study for alcohol marketing. Perhaps the researchers didn’t know studies which show that in many sportsclubs alcohol is a common social tool, especially in team sport. And many are sponsored by the alcohol industry. That’s why sports clubs often are not a preventive measure for youth regarding alcohol. For me the result isn’t surprising. And many newspapers will bring the headlines without a critical statement.

Colleges that objected to Anheuser-Busch’s team-colored beer cans have succeeded in getting the brewer to halt the promotion in their local communities. (Source: Join Together, 8/27/09)

Anheuser-Busch is releasing a series of 27 can designs for Bud Light featuring the colors of college sports teams, but the schools‘ reactions have been decidedly mixed, the Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 21.
The brewer contends that the promotion is aimed at legal-age drinkers and that the cans don’t include any team logos. Some schools seem accepting of the idea, but others are calling on the company to stop the marketing campaign, saying it encourages drinking among college students — many of whom are under age 21. (Source: Join Together, 8/24/09)

Monitoring of alcohol-industry advertising and its effects on youth will continue for at least the next five years thanks to a $4 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY). (Source: Join Together, 8/21/09) Comment: We congratulate David Jernigan and are glad he can continue with his valuable work.

A new study from the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, in collaboration with UCLA, has found a striking correlation between teenage viewership and the frequency of alcohol advertising on cable television. The findings show that ads for beer, spirits and „alcopop“ aired much more frequently when more teens were watching. (Source: Medical News Today, 8/21/09)

A study of 1,700 women in Spain concluded that those who drank moderate amounts of beer had stronger bones than nondrinkers or winedrinkers, although researchers said it might be the plant hormones in the beer at work, not the alcohol. (Source: Join Together, 8/18/09) Comment: We are very glad the beer-lobby has found a new playground. It might be the plant hormones not the alcohol. But for the media beer is beer. Why didn’t they test with alcoholfree beer?