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Anti Alcohol Industry in US

Posted on Jan 11, 2011

A huge anti-alcohol industry flourishes in the US which is very well-funded by various organizations and its supporters. This industry comprises of many interrelated organizations, groups and individual activists who strongly believe in anti-alcoholism and oppose its consumption. While some believe is complete prohibition of alcohol abuse, most of them follow the idea of reduced alcohol consumption.

Strategies followed by anti-alcohol industry to reduce alcohol consumption

One strategy employed by the anti-alcohol industry in reducing alcohol consumption is to make these beverages very expensive and inaccessible. The supports of this industry feel that:

• The alcohol abuse itself is the cause for various problems related to drinking
• Easier the availability of alcohol to public, more would be the number of people drinking
• The quantity of alcohol consumption is related to the number of problems arising due to drinking. Other factors like speed of consumption, reasons for consumption are not directly responsible for it.
• Anti-alcohol campaign should be focus predominantly on the issues related to heavy alcohol consumption and its ill-effects and should promote abstinence.

Owing to the support the anti-alcohol industry has received by all the supports, many measures have been taken to combat alcohol abuse. Some of the prominent measures are:

• Increasing taxes
• Restriction on the number of retail outlets for alcohol
• Reducing the alcohol content in some drinks
• Banning or censoring advertisements related to alcohol
• Statutory warning messages on all advertisements on alcohol beverages
• Presence of detailed labels warning its effects on all containers of alcohol beverages
• Restrictions on sale timing of alcohol beverages and ensuring that they are sold only on few specified days and hours
• Restriction on sale of alcohol to minors to avoid underage drinking
• Decreasing the BAC legal limit for driving vehicles. This level varied for drivers of commercial vehicles and minors
• Removing the tax deductibility on any alcohol beverage

The focus of the anti-alcohol industry is not just to establish legal prohibitions on alcohol abuse instead it is more on making it less acceptable by people so that they can completely avoid alcohol consumption. It is more cultural rather than legal.

Some of the prominent players in the anti-alcohol industry

• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation focuses on building awareness about alcohol abuse and stigmatizes alcohol. This organization has spent money amounting to about a billion dollars in four years to spread the message across and develop and fund a network of anti-alcohol organizations, centers, activist leaders and opinion writers.
• Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) has been established and funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. It focuses on alcohol abuse among youth and reduces the rate of underage alcohol consumption.

Thus, anti-alcohol industry is independently striving towards controlling the menace of alcoholism. It is constantly devising various strategies to keep a check on the alcohol consumption.

Alcohol Abuse1 Comment »Alcohol Consumption Alcoholism Anti Alcohol Industry

Top 10 ways to run successful anti alcohol campaigns in US

Posted on Jan 06, 2011

Alcohol abuse is one of the most severe menaces in US and more and more people are getting affected by it. It is very important that this national problem is controlled at the earliest through anti-alcohol campaign. One of the best ways to run such a campaign is through alcohol abuse intervention. It is when you care for the health of another person who is addicted to alcohol and collaborate with others concerned about the health of this person.

Creating public awareness with anti alcohol campaigns in US

1. Build awareness among kids about the effects of alcohol. You should get the message across to them about alcohol usage through anti-alcohol posters near their schools. As teen peer pressure is one of the main reasons, parents and guardians should train kids to handle it well and not get pressurized.
2. Though alcohol advertisements are used extensively to market alcohol products, a ban on such advertisements should be done from immediate effect. If this is not possible, then a statutory caution should be included on it about the addictions and problems related to drunk driving. If you attend parties, you should be careful about the extent of alcohol served there.
3. Do not let anybody drive after drinking. Spread awareness about its effects and communicate to the guests that they should hire a cab to get back home after being drunk or stay back in the house of the house.
4. Based on the law of the country or state, it is crime to sell alcohol to a minor. Anti-alcohol campaigns should be used to educate the retailers, bouncers, cashiers or bartenders to check the age of the person prior to sale of alcohol beverages.
5. The effect of alcohol is very dangerous for pregnant women. It might lead to prematurity, birth disorders or miscarriage. Anti-alcohol campaign using various media like anti-alcohol advertisements, posters should be used to warn pregnant women.
6. Drunk driving can lead to DWI which is a criminal offense and if convicted can lead to severe penalties like suspension of license and even jail. Anti-alcohol campaign should educate people about the effectives of DWI.
7. Drunk driving with a BAC over the legal limit can lead to DWI whose rules are dependent on the state. People should be made aware about the DWI rules specific to state through anti-alcohol campaign.
8. If your loved ones are addicted to alcohol, then they should be sent to AA or Alcoholics Anonymous group sessions. The discussion is kept confidential. Anti-alcohol campaigns help in spreading awareness about these group sessions.
9. Students should be educated through teachers and counsellors about alcohol abuse and its effects.
10. Electronic and print media should be used effectively for spread public awareness about anti-alcoholism.

Friends, do share more such ways to run a successful anti alcohol campaign in US.

DWI, Drunk DrivingNo Comments »Alcoholism Drunk Driving DWI

10 Common Drinking Myths

Posted on Mar 26, 2010

Everybody thinks they’re pros when it comes to drinking. When the drinking begins they start running off at the mouth about drunk driving facts, telling terrible tales, going on about how to avoid high blood alcohol content, how to beat the breathalyzer and the field sobriety tests. There are so many myths, stories and yarns about drinking that it would be impossible to list them all, but we hear them every time a drink is poured. Does it make you mad? Next time you hear these 10 Common Drinking Myths, get ready to ignore them:

1. Coffee will sober you up.

Coffee does not sober you up. Time sobers you up. Alcohol will leave your body at a rate of about .015 percent of blood alcohol content (BAC) per hour. This is the thing that will sober you up.

2. You should admire people who can “hold their liquor.”

People who can drink a lot without getting drunk may have developed a tolerance for alcohol which may be a sign of dependency.

3. Being drunk and alcoholism are synonymous

. Lots of people who are not alcoholics get drunk sometimes. But if they do not have an addiction, they are not alcoholics. Intoxication is not a good thing and should be avoided. It is better to either not drink or to drink lightly.

4. Drinking is the cause of alcoholism

If alcohol was the cause of alcoholism, anyone who took a drink would be an alcoholic. Some say that you are born an alcoholic and this trait will manifest its self in some other behavior, even if you never drink.

5. There is a worm in tequila bottles

There is no worm in bottles of tequila. The drink is made from a type of plant. It’s not really a worm in the bottle, it’s a butterfly caterpillar. Some people swallow the caterpillar when they finish the bottle. Don’t worry your stomach acid will dissolve the caterpillar and you will not belch a butterfly.

6. Drinking Old English 800 makes your breath stank

If your breath stinks, it’s not the malt liquor. It’s your lack of oral hygiene that causes your breath to stink. Try a breath mint every now and then and mix in some floss if you are averse to toothbrushes.

7. Women look better when you are drunk

This is a popular myth. It is not the woman that is looking better; it’s your judgment that is impaired and your standards that are lowered by the end of the night. It is also a sign that you should not be behind the wheel because by morning you will get a rude awakening one way or another!

8. I drive better after a few drinks

You may feel like you are driving like Jeff Gordon and you may make it home most of the time, but the reality here is just as in number seven above. It is your perception that is impaired. You may think you are driving like a NASCAR champ but remember you drive between the lines not down the middle.

9. There is a way to beat the breathalyzer test

To date, no one has discovered way to beat the breathalyzer test. If you get pulled over and blow above the legal limit, you’re going to jail you will not pass go or collect two hundred dollars. And that is if you are lucky! You could end up with your car wrapped around a telephone pole or kill some innocent family.

10. If you are drunk and there is an accident the drunk driver is usually not hurt

Come on! Put it this way: someone reading this article will be dead because of drunk driving by the end of the year, statics prove this. It doesn’t matter whether you are the drunk driver or the passenger, everyone suffers! So seriously, don’t get behind the wheel after drinking.

Alcohol4 Comments »Alcoholism Drinking Myths