Economic Report-Problem Drinkers, Underage
consumption---Good customers for the Alcohol Industry

Alcohol and the Environment

"The alcohol industry understands alcoholism better than anyone ... If every American drank according to the federal guidelines, industry sales would be cut by 80 percent," said Jean Kilbourne, Ed.D.

Louisiana Underage College Students’ Drinking Behavior, Access to Alcohol, and the Influence of Deterrence Policies. Read the Harvard Study from 2003.

Landmark report and call for action by the NAS 9/03 read overview here

Alcohol is a drug or it isn't! Read outrage on Alcohol being excluded from the "Drug Policy" efforts

Ongoing harm-Binge drinking and babies.

Louisiana Facts

More than 40% of individuals who begin alcohol consumption at age 13 or younger will develop alcohol dependence. (suffer from Alcoholism)
-Source: Grant B.E., Dawson, DA, 1997. Age onset of alcohol use and association with DSM IV alcohol abuse and dependence, Results from the National Longitudinal Study

Young people ages 12 to 20 saw two beer or ale ads in 2001 for every three such commercials aired on programs viewed primarily by adults.

Louisiana has three of the top 92 markets ranked by the number of alcohol ads on television:

- New Orleans ranked 56th -- 63,811 alcohol ads

- Shreveport ranked 66th -- 63,571 alcohol ads

- Baton Rouge ranked 91st -- 63,074 alcohol ads

A recent report found that substance abuse and addiction will add at least $41 billion—10 percent—to the costs of elementary and secondary education this year, due to class disruption and violence, special education and tutoring, teacher turnover, truancy, children left behind, student assistance programs, property damage, injury and counseling.

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA)

Alcohol Problems, Under Age Drinking, Binge Drinking, Illegal Drug Use by Minors

Our Purpose

Louisiana Resource Page

Louisiana Alcohol Overdose

"A child who reaches age 21 without smoking, abusing alcohol or using drugs is virtually certain never to do so."- Joseph A. Califano, Jr., CASA very instrumental in supporting real policy that is effective.

Approximately 11 million American youth under age 21 drink alcohol. source AMA FACTS Alcohol is a major factor in unprotected sex among youth, increasing their risk of contracting HIV or other transmitted diseases.

Our voice is the only hope for accountability. Below you will find information gathered from many sources, our hope is this information will be used to educate those in need of real information to bring about real hope for our children, and communities.

Alcohol is the leading cause of death for Louisiana Youth (See Alcohol College/Youth Deaths)
Alcohol is involved in roughly 50% of all homicides, suicides, and fatal traffic crashes
More undergraduates will die from alcohol-related causes than will receive advanced degrees

Parents are worried about the advertising of alcohol Poll finds that parents of teens think alcohol ads have a serious effect on teen drinking habits or Download the Peter Heart Survey, Alcohol Advertising troubling parents.

Both of these images taken from a local stores (across the street from each other in Baton Rouge, LA) 9/03
"Beer is cheaper than Orange Juice" Dr. Richard Scribner, LSU Health Sciences (2002)

Is there fair information and warning on product's connected by consumption, to Alcoholism?

Knowing that Alcoholism (Alcohol Dependence) is a result of both a genetic predisposition (runs in the family) and environmental factors, it continues to baffle us as to why the policy makers of this country have not addressed both the labeling of Alcoholic beverages (Warning that consumption may lead to dependence), and why the Advertising of Alcoholic Beverages has also not included warning information and educational information to allow those who choose to drink, accurate information on the direct relationship between consumption of alcohol and alcoholism (alcohol dependence).

Review of the Role the Alcohol Industries' "Business" plays in our health and well being, and community safety. The Alcohol Industry is in business, and therefore practices reflect action to improve their shareholders value, not our communities value, this report is very clear as to the role of the Alcohol Industry, their Advertising, and Need to identify themselves in some capacity as "Good corporate citizens" . The problem, is that they appear to spend more money, and are directed at simply improving public opinion and identifying that with their brand. Who can fault them? That is what they are allowed to do. The excellent job by the lobby has enraged many. Many are asking, Why is this industry getting a break on taxation? Bread, Milk, our income taxes, have increased over the years, but not alcohol. This is good news for their industry, cheap products, increase their revenues.

Factual Information:

What are the consequences of underage drinking?
Fatalities: In 1994, underage drinking killed an estimated 6,350 youth ages 12-20, more than 6 times the fatalities resulting from other illicit drug use (980). [Miller & Covington, 1999]

Alcohol-involved traffic fatalities: One-third of all deaths for people ages 15-20 result from motor vehicle crashes. In 1997, more than one-third of these motor vehicle fatalities involved alcohol. [NHTSA, 1998]

BAC levels of alcohol-involved traffic fatalities: More 18- and 19-year olds died in low BAC (between .01 and .09) alcohol-related crashes than any other ages. In fact, 17-, 18-, 19-, 20-, and 21-year olds are the top five ages of people that die in low BAC crashes. [NHTSA, 1998] This statistic shows that even low levels of alcohol are dangerous for young people.

Rate of death for licensed drivers: For every 100,000 licensed drivers, young drinking drivers are involved in fatal crashes at approximately twice the rate of drivers aged 21 and older. [NHTSA, 1998]

Future alcohol disorder problems: People who begin drinking before age 15 are four times as likely to develop alcohol dependence and more than twice as likely to develop alcohol abuse than those who delay drinking until age 21. [Grant & Dawson, 1997]

Academic problems: A clear relationship exists between alcohol use and grade-point average among college students: students receiving grades of D or F drink three times as much as those who earn As. [Presley & Meilman, 1996]

Risk of physical violence: A national survey of college students found that binge drinkers were 3.5 times more likely than their non-bingeing counterparts to have been a victim of physical violence. [Presley et al., 1997]

Risk of sexual victimization: Three-fourths of college students who were victims of unwanted sexual intercourse said they were drinking or using other drugs when they were victimized. [Presley, et al., 1997]

Age of 1st Drink=Risk for Alcohol Harm
Young Minds

The available evidence suggests that adolescents are more vulnerable than adults to the effects of alcohol on learning and memory. (White, 2001)

Alcohol affects all parts of the brain, which also affects the heart rate, coordination, speech, and destruction of brain cells. (Narcotic Educational Foundation of America, 2002)

It has become clear over recent years that alcohol impacts both behavior and brain function differently in adolescents and adults. (White, 2001)

The brain does not finish developing until a person is around 20 years old, and one of the last regions to mature is intimately involved with the ability to plan and make complex judgments. (Swartzwelder, 1998)

Alcohol may encourage aggression by disrupting normal brain mechanisms that normally restrain impulsive behavior such as aggression. (Hingson et al, October 2001)

The brain continues to grow through the age of 20. (Giedd et al, 1999)

Heavy drinking over many years may result in serious mental disorders or permanent, irreversible damage to the brain or peripheral nervous system. (Narcotic Educational Foundation of America, 2002)

Recent research indicates that, in contrast to previous assumptions, the brain continues to undergo a tremendous amount of development through adolescence and into young adulthood. (White, 2001)

The alcohol industry has become a major funder and designer of prevention and education programs. Anheuser-Busch’s sponsorship of social norms marketing, a new strategy for preventing alcohol problems on college campuses, is a recent example (see page 3). The beer giant’s support has triggered a healthy debate in the higher education and public health communities. Does it taint the programs? Given the company’s aggressive marketing to college students, should universities refuse the funds? Will the funding undermine efforts to restrict those marketing practices?

Young people who consume hazardous quantities are the alcohol industry’s most important customers. Hazardous drinking, defined as 5 drinks or more day, accounts for more than half the alcohol market and 76 percent of the beer market.

Underage drinkers are a substantial part of the alcohol market and a key consumer group. There are varying estimates of the underage drinking market. Eigen and Noble (1994)₁₂ concluded that underage drinkers account for approximately 10 percent of the alcohol market, or almost $10 billion annually. The Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimated in 1991 that students in 7th through 12th grades annually consume 1.1 billion cans of beer and about 35 percent of all wine coolers sold in the United States.₁₃

Most of this consumption occurs in a hazardous fashion (five or more drinks in a single session)

The alcohol production market is concentrated in a small number of large companies.

A handful of large companies control the market, and their numbers have steadily shrunk during two decades of corporate mergers .Beer is by far the most concentrated market, with only two companies, Anheuser-Busch and Philip Morris (owner of Miller Brewing Company), accounting for two-thirds of all beer sales. Together with these two, eight other alcohol companies that sell beer, wine and distilled spirits, account for approximately 70 percent of all US alcohol sales (measured in terms of pure alcohol).8

The alcohol market generates huge sales and profits. The alcohol industry pursues an enormous market in the United States:

$115 billion in annual sales generate substantial profits for producers, distributors andretailers.5 Anheuser-Busch Co., the largest brewer, reported a net income in 2000 in excess of $1.5 billion.6 As with any business, the alcohol industry’s primary focus is on maximizing profits. As stated in the 1997 Anheuser-Busch annual report: "Every action taken by ...management is guided by one overriding objective -enhancing shareholder value."7

Underage Drinking Facts

Each year,college students spend approximately $5.5 billion on alcohol- more than they spend on soft drinks, milk, juice, tea, coffee and books combined. (Drug Strategies, 1999)

Teenagers are not well informed about alcohol's effects. Nearly one-third of the teens responding to a 1998 American Academy of Pediatrics survey mistakenly believed that a 12-ounce can of beer contains less alcohol than a standard shot of distilled sprits. (Drug Strategies, 1999)

Beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage among young people. (Grossman et al, 1994)

Binge drinking has been defined as at least five drinks in a row for men and four drinks in a row for women. (Weschsler et al, 2002)

A College Alcohol Survey of four colleges indicated that binge-drinking levels are associated with ease of access to alcohol, price, special promotions, and outlet density in college communities. (Weschsler et al, 2002)

Parents' drinking behavior and favorable attitudes about drinking have been positively associated with adolescents' initiating and continuing drinking. (NIAAA, 1997)

Youth who drink before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who begin drinking at age 21. (NIAAA, 1997)

State Contacts Responsible for enforcement:

Mr. Murphy Painter mpainter@rev.state.la.us
Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control PO Box 66404 Baton Rouge, LA 70896-6404
What they are responsible for doing: Other Process
Enforcement of minimum purchase age laws
Compliance checks
Enforcement Aimed at Youth
Cops in Shops
Penalties applied to the use of false identification
Strategies aimed at reducing social availability of alcohol
School based programs - enforcement at college sporting events
Prevention of Impaired Driving
Establishment and enforcement of 'zero tolerance' laws
Other - Purchase audio and visual equipment to aid enforcement

(people who are receiving funding for this effort in Louisiana) go to their link below for more information. OJJDP's Enforcement of Underage Drinking Program

Updated on January 7, 2003 LA

Report on why access to alcohol "matters" in efforts to reduce highway deaths
related to alcohol consumption-Alcohol policy, traffic fatalities, alcohol accessibility