Teens Victimized by Upswing in Alcohol Ads, OTC Drug Abuse
by Jim Brown
June 3, 2004
(AgapePress) - Alcohol companies are putting far more ad revenue into their product ads than they are into encouraging consumers to use their products responsibly. At the same time, the Partnership for a Drug Free America is warning of a growing number of forms of prescription drug abuse among teens.A new study says 2002 saw a dramatic increase in alcohol product advertising and a sharp decline in "responsibility" ads. The study by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University finds that there were 226 product ads for every ad that the alcohol industry aired warning of negative things that might happen from consuming their product. Anheuser Busch, the largest alcohol advertiser on TV, ran nearly 45,000 product ads in 2002.
Dr. David Jernigan, the Center's research director. Says the spike in product ads can be attributed to a number of factors. One factor, he says, is that the Olympic Games were held that year.
"There's always a bump-up in advertising in the Olympic years," Jernigan explains. "Also that's the year that the alcohol companies were really trying to push out these new flavored malt beverages -- like 'Bacardi Silver,' or 'Smirnoff Ice,' or 'Mike's Hard Lemonade.'"
The researcher notes that the alcohol industry "spent a lot of money trying to establish that category" in the minds of potential consumers.
The study also revealed that underage youth between the ages of 12 and 20 were 400 times more likely to see an alcohol product ad than an ad discouraging underage drinking. Jernigan says the figures do not bode well for the health of America's youth.
"Kids were buried under an avalanche of product advertising for alcohol in 2002 -- and [alcohol abuse] is the number-one drug problem among our kids," he says. "Alcohol is associated with the leading killers of kids -- every day, three kids get behind the wheel of a car and drive after they've been drinking and die, and six more die of other alcohol-related causes."
Jernigan says a national media campaign about alcohol is a solution to the obvious -- alcohol companies cannot be the ones sending a responsibility message about their product. In 2002, for every dollar spent on responsibility ads, the alcohol industry spent $99 on ads touting their products.
'Doing Skittles'
Meanwhile, teenagers popping prescription pills is a growing national problem -- but the actual nature and extent of it remains to be seen. According to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, upwards of 21 percent of teenagers have used a prescription or over-the-counter drug in a way other than directed. And government research indicates use of non-medical pain relievers among 18- to 25-year-olds is up 225 percent.
Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the Partnership, says it is not known yet if it is an epidemic or a trend. "We're seeing pain relievers misused, attention deficit and hyperactivity drugs misused -- and even ... different types of tablet-form cough medicine," he explains. "The kids call it 'doing Skittles' because some of these tablets look like candy."
Pasierb says observers are even witnessing kids on attention deficit drugs trading them or giving one to their friends on the playground. Parents particularly, he says, need to be absolutely aware of the abuses. "It's an issue that has arrived on the scene and is not likely to go away until we pay attention to it," he warns.
According to Pasierb, many kids believe because the drugs are in pill form and are otherwise beneficial medicines, there is some level of safety in experimenting with them versus illicit drugs like marijuana, cocaine, or heroine.
"Because there are so many of these drugs out there in society for legitimate use, there's a big opportunity for diversion," he says. "We see powerful pain medications like OxyContin and Vicodin and things like that which are being outright stolen from pharmacies or ... prescriptions [being filled] which are then sold on the black market. But there's also these drugs which are in our household which are being diverted."
Pasierb says over the course of this year, more research will be available to give a better picture of the enormity of the problem.
