Alcohol Companies Targeting Teens

Alcohol companies are bypassing Government regulations and deliberately targeting young people with free alcohol giveaways and fancy promotions. Here are quotes from two Daily Telegraph articles.

Teens Tricked Into Boozing (Full article here)
Article from: The Daily Telegraph
By Clare Masters
September 11, 2007 12:00am

ELABORATE giveaways, free alcohol offers and sneaky promotions are allowing alcohol companies to bypass government regulations and deliberately target young people.

Those are the findings of an Australian study that for the first time examined the link between promotional giveaways at bottle shops and escalating binge drinking rates in young people.

The Australia-first research has prompted leading alcohol experts to call on the State Government to tighten legislation and specifically target point-of-sale promotions.

“It is extremely concerning these promotions effectively enable the alcohol industry to evade the laws and regulations which state alcohol advertising must not be aimed at young people,” the Community Alcohol Action Network’s Geoff Munro said.

“It is alarming because it will have an impact on young people’s health.”

Taste of a binge generation (Full article here)
Article from: The Daily Telegraph
By Eoin Blackwell
September 11, 2007 12:00am

THE candied taste of the pre-mixed “lolly water” wins out with young drinkers every time – and any free gifts or alcohol with promotions only sweetens the deal.

Nicole Wedlock, 20, and her friend Bec Chidiac, 19, said they tend to go for the ready-to-drink “chick drinks” but will occasionally have a round of shots to expedite the drinking process.

“Cruisers, Smirnoff, Vodka/Red Bull . . . If someone’s shouting a round, you go with what they’re shouting,” Ms Chidiac said.

“Sometimes shots, just to get drunk,” Ms Wedlock said.

7 thoughts on “Alcohol Companies Targeting Teens

  • September 11, 2007 at 1:15 pm
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    I think that the biggest factor in abuse of alcohol (and other substances) by young people is that their lives suck in so many ways.

    Home schooling is one major way of improving the quality of life for children by avoiding the hell that is high-school.

    If all children were home-schooled by intelligent and attentive parents or taught in schools with small class sizes and caring teachers then I think that most of these problems would disappear.

    Reply
  • September 11, 2007 at 1:55 pm
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    Hi
    I agree with what you’re saying. Child abuse, bullying, divorce and family violence all effect our children and young adults in different ways and unless they’re helped to deal with these things then the results are very self-destructive.

    Thanks for your comment, Kylie

    Reply
  • September 12, 2007 at 3:54 am
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    I agree with your points. However the thing to note is that child abuse and family violence are quite rare and divorce isn’t that common. But bullying and other aspects of the dysfunctional school system affect the majority of children (possibly all children).

    I agree that restricting alcohol advertising will do some good, and I agree that better measures to protect children from abuse and violence in the home will also do some good.

    But I believe that a lot more good can be done by reforming the school system.

    Reply
  • December 30, 2007 at 6:11 am
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    i agree with some of your opinions on this but do u honestly think that if every teen was home schooled ad if they werent bullied etc. they wouldnt drink???

    i have done ALOT of research on this and i can tell u that the main reason that teens/kids drink alcohol is because of the risk factor… they wanna take a risk… they are curious to see what will happen… how the booze will affect them… what will happen if they get caught etc etc.

    i know that might sound really stupid… but it is fact… written fact… and it is honestly the main reason why teens drink!!!

    i know that peer pressure (or u may call it bullying) is definately a common factor coz kids just wanna be ‘cool’ and fit in (i know what that is like…im only in yr12 at school… so i have had the pressure!) but its not the most common reason why underage drinking occurs!!!

    to tell u the truth etbe, i think that if every1 was home schooled they would be TOTALLY BORING!!!

    Reply
  • December 31, 2007 at 2:55 am
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    Hi Jatz
    Thanks for your comments!
    You said:
    “do u honestly think that if every teen was home schooled ad if they werent bullied etc. they wouldnt drink???”
    No I don’t. I drank from a young age for a number of reasons. Also I don’t see that homeschooling is for everyone 🙂 It doesn’t suit all cases and isn’t a ‘cure all’ for society’s ills.

    Kylie

    Reply
  • April 5, 2008 at 10:03 am
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    I think one of the more interesting (and negative) trends in alcohol marketing is the way that brewing and liquor companies are using the internet as a platform for campaigns they would never get away with in more general media – like on TV. Miller had an unbelievable web site for its energy drink Sparks – sparks.com I think it was, and although they claim they are marketing it at 27+ – it looks to all the world like something your 13 year old would get a great kick out of visiting.

    The answer here is always going to be greater govt. regulation. We cannot expect alcohol companies to self regulate, when their financial interests are at odds with public health interests.

    By the way – I really admire the work that Teen Challenge does!

    Reply
  • April 8, 2008 at 10:15 am
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    Hi John
    Thanks for your comments especially about Government regulation. This is certainly something Teen Challenge, parents and other concerned people can be lobbying their local MPs about!

    Kylie

    Reply

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