Given a few million in extra pocket change, it might be interesting to offer to buy a 30 second spot(s) during a superbowl and show counter-ads. A network would never allow counter-ads to be shown because they are in the business of selling dreams, but if it were shown it might make people stop and think that to some degree slick ads just like political propaganda can fool people into wanting dumb things with unintended consequences.B.T.W. here is an idea for any corporate lawyers, sue about about the fair use of your companys brand trademark. Like they say in the Mastercard commercials, the publicity would be "priceless."
or how Nazi propaganda helped put Hitler in power.
So to some degree consumers of alcohol, followers of the Taliban and Nazi party, all have something in common and that is they all were fooled into buying a self destructive reality.
YOUNG ADULTS AND ALCOHOL
Do you think "not my child" when you read a report about underaged drinking? Think again. Check out these statistics about our youth and the influence of alcohol and other drugs on their lives.
- First use of alcohol typically begins around the age 13 (NIDA, Drug Use Among Racial/Ethnic Minorities, 1995, p.31).
- People who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcoholism than those who begin at age 21 (NIAAA news release, 1/14/98).
- Approximately 2/3 of teenagers who drink report that they can buy their own alcoholic beverages (OIG, HHS, "Youth and Alcohol: A National Survey. Drinking Habits, Access, Attitudes, and Knowledge," Washington, DC, 6/91).
- Use of alcohol and other drugs is associated with the leading causes of death and injury (e.g., motor-vehicle crashes, homicides, and suicides) among teenagers and young adults (Centers for Disease Control {CDC}, "Alcohol and Other Drug Use Among High School Students--United States, 1990," Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report {MMWR}, 11/91, p. 776).
- 90% of cocaine users smoked, drank, or used marijuana before trying cocaine (from the Narconon of Southern California web site).
- People who begin smoking before age 13 are significantly more likely than nonsmokers and those who begin smoking later to have problems with alcohol and other drugs (E Hanna & B Grant, "Parallels to Early Onset Alcohol Use . . .," Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, Vol. 23, No. 3, 1999, p. 513-522).
- Approximately 8% of the nation's eighth graders; 24% of tenth graders; and 32% of twelfth graders have been drunk during the last month; 12%, 23% and 25%, respectively, have used an illicit drug (NIDA, 2000 Monitoring the Future Study, Secondary Students).
- Among teenagers who binge drink, 39% say they drink alone; 58% drink when they are upset; 30% drink when they are bored; and 37% drink to feel high (OIG, HHS, "Drinking Habits, etc.").
- Junior/middle and senior high school students drink 35% of all wine coolers sold in the United States; they also consume 1.1 billion cans of beer (Ibid).
- 40% of college students have "binged" on alcohol during the past two weeks (NIDA, 1999 Monitoring the Future Study, College Students and Young Adults).
- Young adults ages 18-25 are most likely to binge or drink heavily. 54% of the drinkers in this age group binge and about one in four are heavy drinkers (NIDA, 1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse).
- Drivers under the age of 25 were more likely than those 25 or older to be intoxicated in a fatal crash (CDC, "Alcohol-Related Traffic Fatalities Among Youth and Young Adults - United States, 1982-1989," MMWR, 3/91, p. 179).
- Drivers ages 21-24 had the highest intoxication rates (27%) for fatal crashes in 1996 (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, "Traffic Safety Facts 1996").
- In 1995, 21.5% (262,112) of the clients admitted to alcohol or other drug treatment programs were under age 24, including 18,194 under age 15 (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Admissions to Substance Abuse Treatment Services, Advance Report No. 12, 2/97, p.30).
- A clear relationship exists between alcohol use and grade-point average among college students: students with GPAs of D or F drink three times as much as those who earn As (C Presley and P Meilman, "Alcohol and Drugs on American College Campuses," Student Health Program Wellness Center, Southern Illinois University, 7/92).
- 31.9% of youth under 18 in long-term, State-operated juvenile institutions in 1987 were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the arrest (U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Survey of Youth in Custody, 1987. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, 9/88).
- Almost half of college students who were victims of campus crimes said they drinking or using other drugs when they were victimized (CR Bausell et al, "The Links Among Drugs, Alcohol and Campus Crime," Towson State University Center for Study and Prevention of Campus Violence, MD, 1990).
- Researchers estimate that alcohol use is implicated in one- to two-thirds of sexual assault and acquaintance or "date" rape cases among teens and college students (OIG, HHS, "Youth and Alcohol: Dangerous and Deadly Consequences," Washington, DC, 4/92).
- 80% of teenagers don't know that a 12 oz. can of beer has the same amount of alcohol as a shot of whiskey; similarly, 55% don't know that a 5 oz. glass of wine and a 12 oz. can of beer have the same amount of alcohol (OIG, HHS, "Drinking Habits, etc.").
- 30% of children in grades four through six report that they have received "a lot" of pressure from their classmates to drink beer (The Weekly Reader National Survey on Drugs and Alcohol, Middletown, CT, Field Publications, Spring 1995).
- A survey of high school students found that 18% of females and 39% of males say it is acceptable for a boy to force sex if the girl is stoned or drunk (OIG, HHS, "Dangerous and Deadly Consequences").
- Teenagers whose parents talk to them regularly about the dangers of drugs are 42% less likely to use drugs than those whose parents don't, yet only 1 in 4 teens reports having these conversations (Partnership for a Drug-Free America news release, 4/26/99).
The above text is courtesy of The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.
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