New study says ads spur kids to drink

There is a “robust relationship” between youth's brand-specific exposure to alcohol advertising on television and their consumption of those same alcohol brands during the past month, according to a study posted online for Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research. The July 1, 2014, “early view” of the study, for print publication later in the year, strongly suggests kids who are drinking are drinking what they see advertised on TV.

This is the nation's first brand-specific study on underage consumption of those brands. The researchers examined a national sample of 1,031 youth, ages 13–20, who had consumed at least one drink of alcohol in the past 30 days and noted all alcohol brands consumed by underage drinkers. The respondents also reported which of 20 TV shows popular with youth they had watched during the past 30 days. The brands consumed were consistent with the ads they saw in the programs, popular among them: Sporting events. “This study provides further evidence of a strong association between alcohol advertising and youth drinking behavior,” concluded the study.

Genetics and age of first use are among the factors leading to alcohol use disorders such as the disease of alcoholism, as noted in alcoholism book, Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud. The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University (CAMY) has found that youth in the United States were 96 times more likely per capita to see an ad promoting alcohol than an industry ad discouraging underage drinking.

In a related Scott Stevens article, William Flannery, MD, of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland noted “There is no product on the planet that could cause children more harm. They are the real targets of alcohol ads."

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has been at a similar conclusion about the potential harm from alcohol ads in 1999, saying "While many factors may influence an underage person's drinking decisions, including among other things parents, peers and the media, there is reason to believe that advertising also plays a role." Watchdog groups, including Alcohol Justice, have been even more visible in the past twelve months, not just on alcohol advertising in sport, but everywhere kids are a primary audience, including social media and public transportation.

“The more alcohol ads kids see, the more likely they are to drink, to start drinking at an earlier age, and to drink more. Youth in markets with greater alcohol advertising expenditures drink more; each additional dollar spent on alcohol advertising raises the number of drinks consumed by 3 percent,” according to Alcohol Justice. Their Free Our Sports Youth Film Festival project is a call to eliminate alcohol advertising, sponsorships, branding and promotions from every sport.

An effort to estimate the likely effects of several alcohol policies (higher taxes, advertising bans) on underage drinking behavior in the U.S. population was published in 2006 in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol (JSAD). It concluded that atotal ban on alcohol TV and print advertising would be the most effective, resulting in 7,609 fewer deaths from harmful drinking and a 16.4 percent drop in alcohol-related early mortality.
--see entire article
www.alcohologist.com

Scott Stevens, author of Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud, was the guest on the Rebecca L. Mahan Show July 5.   If you missed it... the replay is on Soundcloud. Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of the Bringing Inspiration To Earth show feature with Scott Stevens. Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go."  

SATURDAY REWIND: Connecting TV advertising to alcohol use disorders in youth

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Nov. 7 noted that alcohol commercials reached one in four children in the 25-largest TV markets.  This article from the alcohol research news archive looks at the impact of ads on young people and how the ads -- especially in sports broadcasts and events -- may contribute to underage drinking and other legal, social or health problems.


Doctors in Ireland are demanding a ban on alcohol sponsorship of sporting events, warning the beverage alcohol industry is “grooming child drinkers.” Sporting bodies are “very much in the alcohol industry’s pocket,” a communications regulatory committee was told April 17 by representatives of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland (CPI).

The proposed ban is similar to smoking advertising bans in the United States, which forced a sponsorship change for NASCAR's top racing series from the Winston Cup to the Sprint Cup.
Dr. William Flannery of the CPI said the alcohol industry was targeting adolescent children and advertising was linked to the early onset of alcohol use disorders – alcohol abuse and the disease of alcoholism. Medical and youth advocacy groups in the U.S., where one in four minors are drinking (see related examiner article), are watching developments in Ireland and other countries while pushing for similar sports advertising bans in the U.S.

Alcohol companies spent more than $1 billion on U.S. sports sponsorships and advertising in 2012, from local events to the Super Bowl. If such a ban is successful in the U.S., it would challenge how professional sports and broadcasters generate revenue. For example, Chicago's Rock and Roll half marathon would have to replace official sponsor Michelob Ultra. Nearby, Milwaukee's Miller Park may need to seek a new naming-rights partner other than the Miller-Coors brewery a half mile away in the cradle of America's beer industry.

U.S. alcohol industry watchdog Alcohol Justice has sports advertising in its crosshairs. Their Free Our Sports Youth Film Festival project, which honored it's winners this month, is a call to eliminate alcohol advertising, sponsorships, branding and promotions from every sport. Each entry from youth aged 10-20 generated letters targeting the CEOs of the three top alcohol producers, demanding that they stop using sports events to promote alcohol consumption.

According to the group, “As alcohol-marketing tactics increase in complexity and frequency, they significantly influence youth expectations and attitudes, creating an environment that promotes underage drinking.” Alcohol Justice points to a 2004 survey showed that 75 percent of adults back a ban of alcohol advertising in youth-oriented media, including sports broadcasts.

“There is no product on the planet that could cause children more harm,” CPI's Flannery said. "They are the real targets of alcohol sponsorship."

The CPI noted that organizations such as the World Health Organization have shown the major effects alcohol marketing and advertising can have on young people in terms of when they begin drinking and how much they consume. "Teenagers' brains are still developing so drinking alcohol at this crucial stage interferes with that development and slows it down,” explained Flannery. "The teen years are crucial stages for developing skills and confidence in how to deal with social situations and various problems that life throws at us. If they are consuming alcohol in these years then their ability to deal with life's challenges in their twenties is impaired as they may only have coped in these circumstances by using alcohol."

Among several other countries regulating, or trying to regulate, alcohol in sports advertising are Australia, the United Kingdom and France. In Australia, where the alcohol industry has a voluntary ad regulation system, an Australian Alcohol Advertising Review Board (AARB) was formed in 2012 due to complaints of companies targeting young people through sport sponsorship. AARB chair professor Fiona Stanley says, "What reason can there be to expose young people and children to the association of alcohol with their sporting heroes or with behaviors such as driving fast cars and surfing?"

In the U.K., lawmakers are considering a total ban on sporting event alcohol advertising as part of sweeping reforms aimed at stemming the U.K.'s swell of alcohol use disorders and underage drinking. Currently there are complicated rules governing alcohol advertising saying that ads cannot be included around programs or films where more than 10 percent of the audience is under 18. (In the U.S. the voluntary standard is 28.4 percent, set by the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S.)
France brought in a ban on alcohol sponsorship in sports in 2011. Rugby's Heineken cup is called the ‘H’ cup there.

Is such a ban possible in the U.S.? Alcohol Justice notes that in recent years, public health advocates and lawmakers have become reticent to enact new or enforce current restrictions on alcohol advertisements, citing court rulings backing free-speech rights. “However, with each ruling, courts have continued to clarify their position regarding the regulation of advertising. As a result, through careful drafting, state and local governments can still restrict alcohol advertising. Moreover, governments can look to crafting restrictions that effectively minimize youth exposure while addressing 21st-century advertising tactics. The scientific evidence is clear that the more ads kids see, the more likely they are to drink, and drink to excess.”
-- from examiner.com (see complete article)

www.alcohologist.com


Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud, plus the new radio interview replay is available at alcohologist.com... and please read the new interview with Scott Stevens at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international historical fiction novelist from the UK. 

SATURDAY REWIND: Who is teaching the kids when summer break arrives? (And the rest of the year, for that matter?)

School is on summer break, officially, for most kids.  The older they grow, the more varied the influences in their lives become.  Summer break may mean more time with friends out of earshot of educators and out of sight of parents.   It may be easier and less embarrassing or uncomfortable to just let the schools and TV public service announcements advise the generation about drinking's hazards... but peers hold a lot of sway.  And so do advertisers (see yesterday's blog post).  What makes the difference is not waiting for teachers or government or entertainers to guide them, according to this article from the alcohol research news archive.  It's a long way of saying, they STILL listen even when you don't think teens ARE hearing.


Parental involvement does more to discourage underage drinking than the school environment can, according to research released December 4 by three universities.

Specifically, the researchers looked at how “family social capital” and “school social capital” changed the chances for and/or frequency of alcohol use by children. Family social capital can be described as the bonds between parents and children, such as trust, open lines of communication and active engagement in a child’s life. School social capital captures a school’s ability to serve as a positive environment for learning, including measures such as student involvement in extracurricular activities, teacher morale and the ability of teachers to address the needs of individual students. Parenting is a better block to underage drinking than the schools, according to the North Carolina State University news release on the study.

"To be clear, school programs that address alcohol and marijuana use are definitely valuable, but the bonds parents form with their children are more important. Ideally, we can have both," says Dr. Toby Parcel, a professor of sociology at NC State and co-author of a paper on the work.

The researchers looked at data from a nationally representative sample that collected information from more than 10,000 students, as well as their parents, teachers and school administrators. The research, to be included in the quarterly Journal of Drug Issues, evaluated marijuana use and alcohol use separately.

“Parents play an important role in shaping the decisions their children make when it comes to alcohol and marijuana,” says Parcel. In both cases, researchers at NCSU (in conjunction with Brigham Young University and Penn State University) found that students with high levels of family social capital and low levels of school social capital were less likely to have used marijuana or alcohol – or to have used those substances less frequently – than students with high levels of school social capital but low family social capital.

More than 10 million American youth under the age of 21 drink alcohol, and more than a million of them are binge drinkers, according to the American Medical Association. One in four teens in the United States have consumed alcohol in the past 30 days. "Underage drinking should not be a normal part of growing up. It's a serious and persistent public health problem that puts our young people and our communities in danger," said U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Administrator Pamela S. Hyde in a related November 26 examiner.com story. "Even though drinking is often glamorized, the truth is that underage drinking can lead to poor academic performance, sexual assault, injury, and even death." Teen drinking also can lead to alcohol abuse as an adult or the disease of alcoholism.
-- from examiner.com
www.alcohologist.com

Alcohol advertising in sports blasted for 'grooming child drinkers,' bans becoming popular internationally

From my news article posted this morning, here's a look at the growing distaste over sports advertising and sponsorships by the alcohol industry.  The list is by no means all-inclusive.  For example, Malaysia and Israel have current bans in place for sports events to prevent teen exposure to the ads and/or reduce domestic violence.

Doctors in Ireland are demanding a ban on alcohol sponsorship of sporting events, warning the beverage alcohol industry is “grooming child drinkers.” Sporting bodies are “very much in the alcohol industry’s pocket,” a communications regulatory committee was told April 17 by representatives of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland (CPI).

The proposed ban is similar to smoking advertising bans in the United States, which forced a sponsorship change for NASCAR's top racing series from the Winston Cup to the Sprint Cup.

Dr. William Flannery of the CPI said the alcohol industry was targeting adolescent children and advertising was linked to the early onset of alcohol use disorders – alcohol abuse and the disease of alcoholism. Medical and youth advocacy groups in the U.S., where one in four minors are drinking (see related examiner article), are watching developments in Ireland and other countries while pushing for similar sports advertising bans in the U.S.

Alcohol companies spent more than $1 billion on U.S. sports sponsorships and advertising in 2012, from local events to the Super Bowl. If such a ban is successful in the U.S., it would challenge how professional sports and broadcasters generate revenue. For example, Chicago's Rock and Roll half marathon would have to replace official sponsor Michelob Ultra. Nearby, Milwaukee's Miller Park may need to seek a new naming-rights partner other than the Miller-Coors brewery a half mile away in the cradle of America's beer industry.

U.S. alcohol industry watchdog Alcohol Justice has sports advertising in its crosshairs. Their Free Our Sports Youth Film Festival project, which honored it's winners this month, is a call to eliminate alcohol advertising, sponsorships, branding and promotions from every sport. Each entry from youth aged 10-20 generated letters targeting the CEOs of the three top alcohol producers, demanding that they stop using sports events to promote alcohol consumption.

According to the group, “As alcohol-marketing tactics increase in complexity and frequency, they significantly influence youth expectations and attitudes, creating an environment that promotes underage drinking.” Alcohol Justice points to a 2004 survey showed that 75 percent of adults back a ban of alcohol advertising in youth-oriented media, including sports broadcasts.

“There is no product on the planet that could cause children more harm,” CPI's Flannery said. "They are the real targets of alcohol sponsorship."

The CPI noted that organizations such as the World Health Organization have shown the major effects alcohol marketing and advertising can have on young people in terms of when they begin drinking and how much they consume. "Teenagers' brains are still developing so drinking alcohol at this crucial stage interferes with that development and slows it down,” explained Flannery. "The teen years are crucial stages for developing skills and confidence in how to deal with social situations and various problems that life throws at us. If they are consuming alcohol in these years then their ability to deal with life's challenges in their twenties is impaired as they may only have coped in these circumstances by using alcohol."

Among several other countries regulating, or trying to regulate, alcohol in sports advertising are Australia, the United Kingdom and France. In Australia, where the alcohol industry has a voluntary ad regulation system, an Australian Alcohol Advertising Review Board (AARB) was formed in 2012 due to complaints of companies targeting young people through sport sponsorship. AARB chair professor Fiona Stanley says, "What reason can there be to expose young people and children to the association of alcohol with their sporting heroes or with behaviors such as driving fast cars and surfing?"

In the U.K., lawmakers are considering a total ban on sporting event alcohol advertising as part of sweeping reforms aimed at stemming the U.K.'s swell of alcohol use disorders and underage drinking. Currently there are complicated rules governing alcohol advertising saying that ads cannot be included around programs or films where more than 10 percent of the audience is under 18. (In the U.S. the voluntary standard is 28.4 percent, set by the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S.)

France brought in a ban on alcohol sponsorship in sports in 2011. Rugby's Heineken cup is called the ‘H’ cup there.

Is such a ban possible in the U.S.? Alcohol Justice notes that in recent years, public health advocates and lawmakers have become reticent to enact new or enforce current restrictions on alcohol advertisements, citing court rulings backing free-speech rights. “However, with each ruling, courts have continued to clarify their position regarding the regulation of advertising. As a result, through careful drafting, state and local governments can still restrict alcohol advertising. Moreover, governments can look to crafting restrictions that effectively minimize youth exposure while addressing 21st-century advertising tactics. The scientific evidence is clear that the more ads kids see, the more likely they are to drink, and drink to excess.”

www.alcohologist.com

Scroll down for the replay of the Dr. Jeanette Gallagher show feature with Scott Stevens. Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus the interview with Scott Stevens at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international historical fiction novelist from the UK.  
 

SAVE THE DATE:  Scott Stevens will be part of the opening night symposium for the REEL Recovery Film Festival San Francisco.

Pat Summerall dies, both he and Roger Ebert had success after alcohol treatment

Sportscaster Pat Summerall died at age 82 April 16.  He's the second TV icon with an admitted alcohol problem to pass away this month.  Here's an article I produced this morning highlighting their successes in treatment and after.



Sportscaster Pat Summerall, who passed away April 16, and film critic Roger Ebert, who died April 4, both admitted having the disease of alcoholism. They both went to treatment and continued on to become two of the biggest names in their respective professions.

Journalist Ebert was a recovering alcoholic, having quit drinking in 1979. In an August 2009 blog post, he wrote about his recovery under the headline “My name is Roger and I'm an alcoholic.”  He wrote, “In August 1979, I took my last drink. It was about four o'clock on a Saturday afternoon, the hot sun streaming through the windows of my little carriage house on Dickens. I put a glass of scotch and soda down on the living room table, went to bed, and pulled the blankets over my head. I couldn't take it any more.”

He was a member of the 12-step group Alcoholics Anonymous after treatment. “The problem with using will power, for me, was that it lasted only until my will persuaded me I could take another drink. Since the first A.A. meeting I attended, I have never wanted to. I know from the comments on an earlier blog that there are some who have problems with Alcoholics Anonymous. They don't like the spiritual side, or they think it's a "cult," or they'll do fine on their own, thank you very much. Don't go if you don't want to. It's there if you need it.”

Summerall was a kicker in the National Football League for 10 years before his broadcasting career, which he began in 1975. Summerall battled alcoholism throughout much of his life and wrote about it in his 2006 autobiography, “Pat Summerall: On and Off the Air.”

In 1990 Summerall was hospitalized with a bleeding ulcer that was aggravated by a toxic combination of painkillers and alcohol. He vowed to give up drinking and did for seven months before a relapse. He confessed that drinking “was no longer fun” at that point. As an athlete and TV personality, he loved being the last guy at the bar, telling the best stories, having the grandest time, but by 1992, he had to hide the drinking and deny the problem. He went to the Betty Ford Center to begin his recovery. "I sat at meetings where you have to introduce yourself and say your problem," he said. "Some people never got the courage to say it. It was tough to say, 'I'm Pat and I'm an alcoholic.' "

Years into his recovery, the damage to his body from his drinking years required a liver transplant in early 2004.

Both men went on to the most successful years of their careers following treatment for the  alcohol use disorder.

Three years sober, Ebert rose to national celebrity in 1982 with the syndicated television show "At The Movies With Gene Siskel & Roger Ebert." A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame came after sobriety, and Oprah Winfrey credits him with persuading her to syndicate "The Oprah Winfrey Show," which became the highest-rated talk show in American television history.

Summerall broadcast 16 Super Bowls on television with networks CBS and FOX, more than any other announcer and most came after sobriety in 1992. The National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 1994 and he was that year's recipient of the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award, bestowed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame "for exceptional contributions to radio and television in professional football." In 1999 he was inducted into the American Sportscasters Association Hall of Fame.

A theme in Ebert's blog on why he stopped drinking and took the step toward recovery is shared by Summerall and summarized in his book: "After a while I became more aware of what alcohol did to me and I wanted to live a hell of a lot longer." Summerall lived to age 82, 20 years into recovery. Ebert died at age 70, 32 years sober.

-- from examiner.com


Ebert's blog post (linked in the article) is pretty specific about his AA experience and is a good, quick read.  Success on the scale these two men enjoyed is not guaranteed after treatment... but at least they lived long enough to create and leave legacies.  AA isn't for everyone, nor is it the only choice for recovery, but many people find long-term sobriety more comfortable when AA is part of their regimen following in-patient or out-patient treatment.  The consensus among alcohol professionals is that no one can do it alone.
www.alcohologist.com