Coalition for the Prevention of Alcohol Problems
1875 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 300
Washington, DC  20009-5728

April 8, 2002

The Honorable W.J. Tauzin, Chairman
Committee on Energy and Commerce
2125 Rayburn House Office Building
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515-6115

Dear Chairman Tauzin;

As a coalition of organizations concerned with public health and the well being of young people and families, we applaud NBC’s elimination of hard-liquor ads from network television. For more than five decades, responsible, voluntary guidelines have provided liquor-free network television and protected young people from promotions to drink hard liquor.

1) Large audiences of underage viewers continue to be bombarded with hard liquor commercials that air on more than 400 independent and cable stations across the country; those ads are subject to few, if any, explicit voluntary "responsibility" standards;

2) Massive amounts (more than $700 million in 2000) of beer advertising continue to interest millions of underage people in drinking. Popular, glitzy, funny, hip, and memorable beer commercials provide a primary – and extremely powerful – source of "education" for young people about alcohol, and;

3) Brewers and hard-liquor producers have teamed up to market new, fruit-flavored, pre-sweetened malt beverages – "alcopops" – that have special appeal for young people. Such liquor-branded malt beverages, including Smirnoff Ice, Bacardi Silver, Skyy Blue, Captain Morgan Gold, among others, will be heavily advertised this year to audiences that include large numbers of underage youth.

Alcohol is by far America’s number-one youth drug problem. It kills six times more teens than all illicit drugs combined and underage drinking costs our country an estimated $52 billion per year. According to the latest government data, nearly one-third of all 12- to 20-year-olds report using alcohol within the past month. Of those youth, nearly 20 percent binge drink.

According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, alcohol-related fatalities have increased for the first time in a decade. Other government data indicate that progress to reduce underage drinking has slowed. This is no time for complacency.

We join Mothers Against Drunk Driving in urging you to schedule hearings immediately to examine the impact of alcohol advertising on underage drinking, and to explore what remedies could better protect young people from exposure to alcohol promotions in the powerful broadcast media.

Thank you in advance for your consideration of our request. We would be pleased to provide further information upon request. Please contact Kimberly Miller at Center for Science in the Public Interest (at 202-332-9110, extension 338) if you have any questions. With best regards.

Sincerely,

Greg A. Hacker
Director
Alcohol Policies Project

On behalf of the following:

Paul Curtin, President
Alcohol Services (Syracuse, NY)

Jessica Cafarella, Policy Analyst
American College of Preventive Medicine

Dr. George Van Komen, President
American Council on Alcohol Problems

Rev. Don Wildmon, President
American Family Association

Dr. Nedzib Sacirbey, Secretary of the Board and Acting Executive Director
American Muslim Council

Lori Dorfman, PhD, Director
Berkeley Media Studies Group

Jim Mosher, Executive Director
California Alcohol Policy Reform Initiative

Harvey N. Chinn, Executive Director
California Council on Alcohol Problems

Roberta Combs, President
Christian Coalition of America

Gary Ruskin, Executive Director
Commercial Alert

Arthur T. Dean, Chairman and CEO
Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA)

Linda Pratt, Program Director
Community Prevention of Alcohol-Related Problems (Hayward, CA)

Joan Kiley, Executive Director
Community Recovery Services (Berkeley, CA)

Art Jaeger, Associate Director
Consumer Federation of America

Roberta Combs, President
Christian Coalition of America

Deborah Beck, President
Drug and Alcohol Service Provider Organization of Pennsylvania

Bill Noonan, Project Director
Environment and Health Council of Louisiana

Penny Norton, Chief Executive Officer
FACE - Truth and Clarity on Alcohol

Jim Winkler, General Secretary
General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church

Theata Blakes, Program Director
Infinity Network Program (New Orleans, LA)

James Baker, Executive Director
The Institute for Public Strategies

David Rosenbloom, Executive Director
Join Together

Sharon Ayers, Director
Louisiana Alliance to Prevent Underage Drinking

Charles Greene, Special Assistant to the Board
The Marin Institute

Perry Carlson, Alcohol and Drug Prevention and Safety Coordinator
Marinette Middle School (Marinette, WI)

Peter DeBenedittis, PhD, Director
Medial Literacy for Prevention, Critical Thinking and Self-Esteem

Rev. Allen B. Rice III, Executive Director
Missouri Safety Council

Rev. Jesse Brown, Jr., Executive Director
National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners

Tex G. Hall, President
National Congress of American Indians

Sue Rusche, Chairman, President and CEO
National Families in Action

David A. Walsh, PhD, President
National Institute on Media and the Family

Jeanette Noltenius, Executive Director
National Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco Prevention

John F. Bunker, President
New Futures

Judy Cushing, President and CEO
Oregon Partnership

Vickie LuQuette, Vice-President
Pan American Services

Deborah Soule, Executive Director
Partnership for a Drug-Free Community (Huntsville, AL)

Paul J. DeWispelaere, President and CEO
PRIDE Youth Programs

Robert Hall, Chairman
Region VIII Champions for a Drug-Free Kentucky

Doris Aiken, President and Founder
Remove Intoxicated Drivers

Commissioner John A. Busby, National Commander
The Salvation Army

Catherine Bath, Program Director
Security on Campus, Inc.

Richard D. Land, President
Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission

JoAnn Urso, Coordinator
Taking a Stand for Alcohol-Free Youth (Easton, MD)

Andrew McGuire, Executive Director
Trauma Foundation

Charles G. Brown, Executive Director
Victim's Rights Political Action Committee

The Most Reverend Joseph A. Galante, Communications Committee Chairman
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

William T. Devlin, President
Urban Family (Philadelphia/NYC)

Maureen Sedonaen, Executive Director
Youth Leadership Institute

cc:
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