Beer Marketer's Insights
Moderation Management Method for Problem Drinkers Put Under Media Microscope Following Tragedy
The validity of the Moderation Management (MM) approach to treating problem drinkers--which limits a person
"Smashed¼ Kids and Alcohol" was billed as a NBC News Special, but turned out to be another familiar example of media advocacy. The 1-hour, prime time show packed a strong emotional punch, and took the alcohol beverage industry to task in several ways, but provided no new insights about how to prevent teen drinking. Typically, host Geraldo Rivera portrayed teen drinking as an "epidemic" several times, claiming that kids are drinking at a younger age and consuming more than ever before. "The average age that children begin drinking alcohol is now about 13," Rivera said. But the US government’s most recent National Household Survey on Drug Abuse estimates that the "mean age of first use" of alcohol was 16.1 in 1996 (the most recent year it has), quite a stretch from "about 13." In fact, the same report shows little change in this figure since 1965. The NBC special also claimed campus and teen "binge" drinking has increased dramatically. In fact, depending on the source, national college surveys show either little change in campus binge drinking rates or slight declines. Some survey data suggests slight increases in "binge" drinking among younger teens in recent years, but the long- term trend is still sharply down.
Besides spreading questionable numbers, the special was loaded with familiar rhetoric and control advocacy. Surgeon General David Satcher called alcohol "the most dangerous" drug. Rivera suggested that Satcher was "taking a tiger by the tail" by taking on the alcohol lobby in DC. While he implied Satcher was breaking new ground, he ignored that at least two of Satcher’s predecessors, Koop and Novello, were far more aggressive in attacking the industry. Researcher Richard Scribner fingered high density of alcohol outlets in college communities as part of the problem. Of course, advertising was a key target, including inevitable shots at long-gone Spuds McKenzie and Frank & Louie for allegedly appealing to youth. The special also provided advocacy for the Los Angeles billboard ban and for including alcohol in the drug czar’s anti-drug media campaign. Satcher said that ads "increase the appeal of drinking" and make it "more acceptable." Francine Katz, AB’s vice president of consumer awareness, didn’t get much air time, but she stated AB’s position: "Underage drinking isn’t an advertising issue¼ It’s a family issue." AB’s ads are "targeted to adults," and every one is cleared by the networks themselves, she added. Most effectively, Katz pointed out: "You can turn off every television set in America and you will have done zero to fight underage drinking." Ironically, after all of the powerful scenes from emergency rooms, statements from young abusers and parents/friends of students who died from drinking too much, and all of the direct and implied attacks on the industry, Rivera concluded by stating parents need to discuss the potential dangers of drinking with their kids. That’s no different than the industry’s message. Ref 4
While the alcohol beverage industry continues its legal fight against a broad advertising ban in the federal courts in Los Angeles, The US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit just upheld a very similar law that banned most tobacco advertising in the 3 largest cities in Massachusetts. This 1st Circuit case does not involve alcohol beverages directly, but the judges
"The possibility that prescribing moderate alcohol intake could aid weight control in non-drinking overweight females should receive clinical evaluation." This provocative suggestion, which appeared in the publication Medical Hypotheses, stems from research that shows that "body mass index tends to be significantly lower in women who are moderate drinkers," despite the fact that drinkers tend to ingest more calories than non-drinkers. The author points out further that the "likely implication of this discovery
"Men who had consumed up to one drink per day during middle age were later found to have significantly better cognitive test results than nondrinkers," an 18-year study of Japanese-American men found. These results, the authors wrote, "are consistent with those of most previ-
ous studies, which generally indicate that moderate drinkers perform better on a single cognitive assessment than abstainers." In this group of 3,556 men living in Hawaii, those who consumed up to one drink per day had a 40% lower risk for a poor score on the cognitive test than abstainers. Those who consumed 2 to 4 drinks per day still had a 22%-28% lower risk than abstainers for a poor score. Those who consumed over 4 drinks per day had higher risks for poor scores. "Because dementia is a common and devastating condition among older adults, even a modest effect of alcohol on cognition could have broad public health implications," the authors noted. Yet, they typically advised "caution in recommending moderate consumption of alcohol for all elderly persons" since there are risks of drug reactions and other medical problems that may "preclude alcohol use altogether. For older persons without contra-indications to drinking, we would endorse the current recommended limit of 1 standard drink per day for elderly persons." Ref 1
Rhetoric Heats Up As .08 Heads to House-Senate Conference; MADD Resurrects "Blood Borders" Theme
A House-Senate conference committee still hasn
Although the Chronicle of Higher Education's 8th annual survey of almost 500 4-year colleges showed alcohol arrests on campus jumped 24% in 98, it raised no alarm about the big increase. Instead, it took a level-headed approach and pointed out that the increase resulted from changes in the federal reporting guidelines, confusion and inconsistency in reporting the statistics, and increased enforcement on college campuses. Its handling of the survey tempered the constant claim by control advocates and the media of a rising "epidemic" of alcohol and drug problems on campus.
In 1998, colleges were required for the first time to include drug, alcohol and other arrests that occurred near campus as well as on campus.
That in many cases drastically altered the number of offenses reported. One urban university, U.N.C. -Greensboro, reported just 7 drug arrests on campus in 97, but a staggering 132 arrests in 98. In reality, the number of drug arrests which occurred on the actual campus increased by just 10. A police official in Greensboro told the Chronicle: "If you look at the on-campus stuff, you just donBilled as "A Spirited Discussion" on moderate alcohol consumption and diet, DISCUS used a recent press conference in New York at least as much to advance equivalence to the trade and consumer press. Each of the three invited speakers
Americans’ attitudes toward drinking and various alcohol policy issues continue to shift, but remain contradictory, according to recent polls. Nearly 15% of American adults still support outright Prohibition, Anheuser Busch found, yet attitudes toward each segment of the industry, and particularly toward brewer efforts to reduce alcohol abuse, have improved in recent years. In fact, 66% now approve of these efforts, up from 38% just 5 years ago.
Other findings from AB: nearly 60% of adults think there’s more underage drinking now compared to 5 years ago, over 40% believe there’s more drunk driving now than in the mid-90s. Those figures are lower than 5 years earlier but continue to show "stubbornly high levels of perception that alcohol problems have not improved," according to AB. Meanwhile, attitudes about beer ads remain contradictory. On the positive side, 70% say the use of "cartoon characters, animation and cute animals" in beer ads is simply a matter of brewers adopting "modern media techniques used by many advertisers," and that figure is rising. Meanwhile, 27% think brewers are trying to "encourage underage drinking" with these techniques; that figure is falling. Similarly, nearly 70% of adults think beer ads primarily encourage brand choice; 28% say beer ads primarily encourage nondrinkers to drink and beer drinkers to drink more. Yet nearly half of adults still support banning beer ads from tv and radio.
Voters over age 21: May 2000 vs Sept 1995
"Support Prohibition": 5/00, 14%; 9/95, 18%.
"Favorable opinion of beer industry": 5/00, 61%; 9/95, 51%
"Approve of job done by beer companies in fighting problem drinking and alcohol abuse": 5/00, 66%; 7/95, 38%
"Oppose banning beer ads on radio and television": 5/00, 50%; 9/95, 45%
Source: Anheuser Busch, Inc.
Roper Starch Worldwide found recently that 76% of American adults say its "all right" for people to drink on some occasions. That figure hasn’t changed much since the mid-90s, but was down from nearly 90% back in 1982. Nearly 70% thought it was acceptable to drink at parties at home, holiday events, and over 60% thought it acceptable to drink at a bar with a friend, at a friend’s home and with meals at home or in restaurants. Between 50% and 60% said it is acceptable to drink before or after dinner or at home with family. Acceptance levels dropped below 50% for drinking alone (at home or in a bar), or at sporting events. Less than 40% thought it is all right to drink during the middle of the day whether at home or not. Roper data also shows that more adults said they drank beer, wine and spirits in 1999 than in 1995, but still less than in 1990.
American Adults: 1999, 1995, 1990
"All right to drink on some occasions": 99 76%; 95, 78%; 90, 82%
"Ever drink beer": 99, 42%; 95, 39%; 90, 45%
"Ever drink wine": 99, 33%; 95, 32%; 90, 40%
"Ever drink liquor": 99, 31%; 95, 28%; 90, 38%
Source: Roper Starch Worldwide
Finally, a recent poll of college students by Zogby International unfortunately lumps drinking and illegal drug use together, but in any case suggests that these activities are likely to remain "hot button" policy issues.
College students: January 2000
"Pressure to drink and/or use drugs hampers schoolwork": 55.5%
"Drinking and/or drugs affects their schoolwork": 35%
"Partying more important than studying": 38.3%
"Studying more important than partying": 57.4%
Source: Zogby International
NARC Just Says No to 3d-Party Review
In a blow to Coors’ bid to set up 3d-party review of complaints about beer ads, the National Advertising Review Council, which represents 3 national advertising associations and the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB), told Coors in late June that "absent consensus within the beer industry, it is not feasible for NARC to create a pilot program to serve as third-party review for Coors advertising." Recall that Coors believes that independent 3d-party review of complaints (not of ads per se) is necessary to add teeth and credibility to Beer Institutes’ ad code. But AB and Miller oppose 3d-party review. Indeed, Beer Institute sent letter to CBBB stating: "An outside review board would add nothing positive to the existing extensive process of internal and external reviews to which all ads are subjected. At best it would add a redundant layer of activity. But at worst, it could become the vehicle for anti-competitive efforts, allowing one brewer to hinder other brewers' campaigns instead of helping to keep all brewers in tune with society’s responses to their campaigns." What does Coors do now? A Coors spokesman told INSIGHTS Coors was "surprised and dismayed that NARC didn’t approve the pilot proposal. We thought it made eminent sense for a company to serve as a guinea pig to see if a workable complaint review process could be developed for the beer industry. We were encouraged that FTC’s recommendation had been endorsed by the state attorneys general, state liquor commissioners (NCSLA) and several members of Congress." (Five Senators signed a letter to the NARC members supporting 3d-party review of complaints.) Coors hasn’t yet determined its next step but "remains committed to move this agenda forward."
Clarification: in our article last issue on 3d-party review, we didn’t make it clear enough that Coors supports 3d-party review for beer only, not all alcohol beverages. Coors has stated specifically that any 3d-party process "must be tailored specifically to the beer industry."