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By Kathy L. Gilbert*
12:00 P.M. EST March 18, 2010
Coming to a TV screen near you – hours and hours of college
basketball washed down with millions of dollars in beer commercials.
March Madness and a cold one – it is no accident the two seem to go
together.
Despite more than 1,700 alcohol-related collegiate deaths a year, the
NCAA refuses to eliminate beer ads – the one drink most consumed and
abused by college age students, said George A. Hacker, director of the
Campaign for Alcohol-Free Sports TV.
“People should be aware of the way in which NCAA and beer producers
exploit a youthful, healthful, action-packed activity to sell beer and
to promote beer to an audience that includes a large number of
impressionable young people,” Hacker said.
Lifelong customers
As the NCAA men’s basketball tournament kicks off today, United
Methodist leaders are among those offering warnings about the unhealthy
association of athletics and a barrage of beer ads.
“The alcohol industry relies on advertising
at college-level sports to encourage young people to become lifelong
customers, some who become alcoholics.”
–The Rev.
Cynthia Abrams
“The alcohol industry relies on advertising at college-level sports
to encourage young people to become lifelong customers, some who become
alcoholics,” said the Rev. Cynthia Abrams, director at the United
Methodist Board of Church and Society.
The United Methodist agency sponsors the Campaign for Alcohol-Free
Sports TV through their alcohol prevention coalition to highlight the
consequences of alcohol advertising on young people, Abrams said.
“The United Methodist Church has been an ally for more than 20
years,” Hacker said.
Marketing beer and fun
Alcohol companies spend an estimated $4 billion per year marketing
their products. Some of the top beer advertisers are Corona, Miller,
Budweiser and Coors.
On Miller’s Web site are contests for “taste tip-off trivia” marketed
to college hoop fans who will be watching March Madness. Inside
specially marked packages is a chance to win hundreds of “great prizes.”
The Corona Web site features photos of happy young people and the
message: “There are some moments when only a Corona will do.”
“From the beginning, Corona has been about connections - people
coming together, strangers becoming friends, and old friends becoming
even closer,” the site claims. “Because Corona is more than just a beer.
It represents a philosophy of living in the moment that has been
embraced around the world.”
Who wouldn’t want to be part of that party?
Overwhelming pressure
Young people hardly have a chance to grow up without pressure to
drink, said David H. Jernigan, director of the Center on Alcohol
Marketing and Youth with Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health.
“In our current atmosphere, they don’t have that chance, thanks in no
small part to the enormous amount of alcohol advertising they see,”
Jernigan said. “For instance, the average television-watching young
person between the ages of 12 and 20 sees more than 300 advertisements
for alcohol per year on television alone. Parents and teachers cannot
keep up with this heavy and sophisticated media exposure.”
Young people exposed to alcohol marketing are more likely to initiate
drinking or drink more, Jernigan said.
“Delaying onset of drinking is an important public health goal, since
the earlier young people start drinking, the more likely they are to
have alcohol problems later in life. For instance, according to the
surgeon general, young people who start drinking before age 15 are five
times more likely to suffer from an alcohol problem as those who wait
until they are 21.”
Destructive results
Three teens who had been drinking died in this accident. A UMNS photo
courtesy of CDC/ Gwinnett County Police Department.
The “well-funded” alcohol industry has been successful in making sure
their products are subject to as little oversight as possible, Abrams
said. “A distressing result has been that underage and binge drinking
are significant problems because the alcohol industry has been so
successful in its advertising and marketing campaigns.”
The United Methodist Board of Church and Society advocates increasing
alcohol taxes to help fund health care reform.
The United Methodist agency, Jernigan and Hacker were among those who
signed a letter sent to members of Congress in 2009 urging a federal
excise tax increase on alcoholic beverages.
Low prices have made alcohol more affordable for underage persons and
fueled excessive drinking, the letter said.
Pledging to stop
Alcohol advertising during sports events happens because college
presidents allow it to happen, Hacker said.
Through the efforts of this campaign, 372 schools and 16 conferences
have signed a pledge to eliminate alcohol ads from college sports,
Abrams said.
Hacker thinks the campaign might be making progress.
“There has been a significant reduction in the number and proportion
of advertising during the tournament.”
*Gilbert is a news writer for United Methodist News Service in
Nashville, Tenn.
News media contact: Kathy L. Gilbert, Nashville, Tenn., (615)
742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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