Betty Ford Joins NCADD in Call for Educational Counter Advertising Measures

National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence
Friday, 1 November 1996

Former First Lady Betty Ford has joined NCADD in urging support for "counter advertising" measures that would educate the public about the health and safety risks associated with drinking alcohol, the third leading cause of preventable death in America.

"I am saddened that the distilled spirits industry has decided to advertise on television," said Mrs. Ford in a written statement. "This advertising, along with commercials for beer and wine, glamorizes drinking for adolescents and young adults, associating it with success, sophistication, athletic ability and sex. That's why I support the NCADD in its call for counter advertising."

"The announcement in November that the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) would lift its voluntary ban on using radio and television to make distilled spirits more appealing to consumers means that the American public--especially our young people and the millions of men and women who already suffer from the disease of alcoholism--will be subjected to a new wave of commercials that will glamorize drinking and make alcoholic beverages of all kinds virtually indistinguishable from soft drinks," said NCADD president Paul Wood, PhD, in letters to President Clinton, Congressional leaders and Reed Hundt, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. "It's time that we used mass market advertising techniques in combination with the most powerful media at our disposal to inform people that, when not taken in moderation, any alcoholic beverage--whether it be beer, wine, gin, vodka, scotch, or anything else containing the drug ethanol--can have a serious downside that affects both drinkers and non-drinkers alike."

"While the broadcast television networks are to be commended for their decision not to accept commercials for distilled spirits, in reality, Americans, who get most of their information about alcohol through advertising, have a right to know more about alcoholic beverages, not less," continued McGovern. "This includes the fact that standard servings of beer, wine and 80 proof distilled spirits all contain the same amount of alcohol and that any one of them--when not used in moderation--can destroy human life."

With more than half of the nation's students in grades 5 to 12 saying that alcoholic beverage advertising encourages them to drink--and with more than 25% of 8th graders reporting that they have used alcohol in the past month--NCADD has long been a vocal critic of beer and wine commercials that target youth. The organization renewed its call for counter advertising measures after Seagram Americas and now DISCUS ignored repeated appeals by President Clinton, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS), Chairman Hundt, NCADD and dozens of other organizations to behave responsibly and maintain a voluntary ban that has kept so-called "hard liquor" ads off radio since 1936 and off television since 1948. The voluntary ban has been accompanied by a 29% decline in distilled spirits consumption since 1980. During the same period consumption of beer--the alcoholic beverage most heavily advertised on radio and television, and the alcoholic beverage most used by people convicted of driving while intoxicated--has increased more than four per cent.

Counter advertising campaigns to prevent smoking-related health problems in California and in Massachusetts have proven to be an effective means of reducing tobacco use. Rather than rely on the limited availability of traditional public service advertising for which the media donates space and time, these states increased excise taxes on cigarette sales by 25 cents per pack and designated a portion of the income to fund counter advertising campaigns. Early research indicates that smoking rates fell more significantly in these states than in those without similar programs.

For more information, or to contact National Council on Alcoholism & Drug Dependence, see their website at: www.ncadd.org