What can you find
in your corner grocery or convenience store that tastes
like pop, is spiked with booze, and is very popular with
kids? The answer: "alcopop." That's the nickname
given to a new class of alcoholic beverage that is making
a big splash on TV and sending shivers down the spines of
parents and public health officials across the country.
They go by names like Mike's Hard Lemonade, Skyy Blue,
Smirnoff Ice, and Jack Daniels Original Hard Cola. Many
come in bottles that are dead ringers for their hard liquor
namesakes. But they get around the restrictions on liquor
advertising and distribution because they are malt based
drinks. That legally puts alcopops in the beer classification,
where the rules are a lot looser. You won't see ads on TV
for Captain Morgan Rum, but you'll see a lot of them for
Captain Morgan Gold, the alcopop version.
Many of the programs carrying alcopop ads, like Fear Factor,
Major League Baseball and NBA Basketball, have large youth
audiences. In addition, most of the ads look like other
ads that are targeted to young people, complete with hip
looking actors, energetic music, and party scenes. So it's
not surprising that a recent study by the Center for Science
in the Public Interest showed that 73% of teens could remember
alcopop ads they had seen on TV. Alcopops may legally be
beer, but teens aren't fooled. Most teens consider them
liquor, according to the CSPI research.
Why the concern? Alcopop beverages appeal to young entry-level
drinkers because they don't taste like liquor or beer. The
fruity taste makes the introduction to drinking an easy
one. It's also a lot easier to drink more without realizing
it.
When alcopops were introduced in Australia and England
in 1995, the producers said they were aimed at eighteen
to twenty-one year olds. In the U.S., that age group cannot
legally drink, but the industry goal here remains essentially
the same: to develop liquor brand awareness among the young
so that they will transition to the distilled spirits version
as they get older.
We know from other research that the size of a beer company's
advertising budget predicts its share of the illegal teen
drinking market. Now that alcopops are being promoted in
the same way, we have seen them become the next drinking
craze among youth.
This is not a trivial issue. Drinking continues to be the
biggest substance abuse problem among teens in the U.S.
It plays a major role in teen traffic accidents, violence,
date rape, sex, and other risky behaviors. Research has
shown that the strongest predictor of eventual alcohol problems
is the age at which a young person starts to drink. So it's
clear: those alcopop ads on TV aren't just harmless party
scenes-they pose a real danger to our kids.
David Walsh, Ph.D. is the president and
founder of the National Institute on Media and the Family
(www.mediafamily.org). He has written seven books and is
a frequent guest on national radio and television.
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