Frogs and lizards, sexy models in bikinis, catchy music jingles, party scenes where good looking couples are "having a blast" with their favorite beer....do these ads really impact a young person's desire to drink?  Over ONE BILLION DOLLARS are spent each year on alcohol advertising. Yes, that's BILLION.  It is a huge industry, and they know what savvy marketers have known for years...the older a person gets, the harder it is to get them to "switch brands."  It's called brand loyalty.  Product "branding" is crucial, and the younger the targeted prospect is, the more likely they will be to try a new brand.  These prime targets are young, impressionable, and represent a significant amount of product purchases over the term of their lives.

          How significant is the "youth market" to the alcohol industry?  Consider the following, most of which is referenced in the American Medical Association "Special Report" below:

• $115 billion in annual sales generate substantial profits for alcohol producers, distributors and retailers.

• Anheuser-Busch Co., the largest brewer, reported a NET income in 2000 in excess of $1.5 billion.

• Anheuser-Busch & Phillip Morris (owner of Miller Brewing Company), account for 2/3 of all beer sales.

• Young people who consume hazardous quantities of beer are the alcohol industry's most important customers.  Hazardous drinking, defined as 5 drinks or more per day, account for more than half the alcohol's industry's market and 76% of the beer market.  Hazardous drinking practices first appear during 8th grade, increase dramatically during the early college years, then decline at age 25 and older.  Thus, 16- to 25-year-olds constitute a critical part of the alcohol market, particularly for brewers.

• Underage drinkers account for approximately 10% of the alcohol market.  (Do the math).

• Youth are bombarded with $4 billion of alcohol marketing each year.

• The alcohol industry donated more than $11.7 million to the national Democratic and Republican parties and their candidates for federal offices in the 2000 election cycle, making it one of the most generous funders among major industries.

• For several years proposed Legislation that would create a National Media Campaign To Prevent Underage Drinking (H.R. 1509 and S. 866), has been "killed" by Legislators with heavy ties to the alcohol industry.  To see how your Legislator may be affected by Alcohol Industry PAC Contributions, go to OpenSecrets.org

Does alcohol advertising really impact your kids?  Click on some of the links below, then you decide.

If you read nothing else on this page, PLEASE Read the American Medical Association Special Report below:

This AMA Report  Requires (FREE Download)

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