TOPIC:

story[/url:3e16puql] here

“There were no drug dealers at the table when the social partners were discussing how to tackle drug abuse. So why are the alcohol industry at the table? They will do anything to protect their profits. Meanwhile, hundreds of lives are being lost.”

What do you think about alcohol advertising being banned?

My gut reaction is that it would be a good thing -- ban all mass-media alcohol advertising. If nothing else it might help level the playing field for smaller operators.

On the other hand, it seems like a tiny fig-leaf which will make no real difference to the industry or the social fabric and, when people notice this, might just set things up for some even greater restriction on the marketing and sale of alcohol. Advertising is an easy and obvious scapegoat.

So, I'm not sure about the advertising thing, but I do genuinely think that drink companies should be banned from sporting event sponsorship. That strikes me as an unashamed attempt to get young people interested in their brand at an inappropriately early stage -- y'know, when they're too young to have actually tasted the wretched stuff <!-- s:wink: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_wink.gif" alt="" title="Wink" /><!-- s:wink: -->

What he said.

I'd like to see a ban on sporting event sponsorship, but I don't see how a ban on Dutch Gold ads will stop teenagers drinking cans of it down the park.

I thought
"There were no drug dealers at the table when the social partners were discussing how to tackle drug abuse"
was telling. How can people expect to tackle drug abuse without talking to pharmacists? There is a huge problem with prescription drug abuse and unless you can talk to them about how to better regulate these drugs how are you going to help all the benzodiazepine addicts in the country?

Oh god, now they're saying that Alcohol is a gateway drug <!-- s:roll: --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_rolleyes.gif" alt="" title="Rolling Eyes" /><!-- s:roll: -->. I thought that was hash? Now it's alcohol. Whereas really the whole thing stems from Milk, that was the first thing I ever drank, and now I'm on harder stuff like water, coffee and (gasp) beer.

And why is this a report by Psychiatrists? Aren't they supposed to look after the loonies, not the drunks?

All that aside, I agree that banning all advertising would hopefully level the field for proper beer, instead of instilling the 'if it's not on the idiot-box,I'm not drinking it' mentality. Although I suspect that most underagers are just happy to get alcohol of any description, and are not terribly fussy when it comes to brand-specifics.

&amp;quot;kenmc&amp;quot;:2t7ulb60 wrote: I suspect that most underagers are just happy to get alcohol of any description, and are not terribly fussy when it comes to brand-specifics.[/quote:2t7ulb60]Today's fashion-conscious drunken teen is extremely brand aware, and knows which alcopop brands are the cool ones and which are, like, totally not.
[size=75:2t7ulb60](Source: extensive sociological field research on the upper deck of the 54A bus.)[/size:2t7ulb60]