Once cigarettes became synonymous with cancer and death their downfall became inevitable. The cigarette companies did not have enough money (lobbyists, campaign contributions, bad publicity) to fight. Until alcohol becomes synonymous with death (drunk driving, cirrosis, alcoholism) it will be "OK". I was debating with a young man that would like to see all handguns banished. I informed him that there were more alcohol related deaths than by handguns and we should ban alcohol first. He said we "already tried that and it didn't work" as if that was a good enough reason to excuse the deaths by alcohol. People that hate cigarettes and handguns like to drink, like to get drunk and likely have driven that way. To now say there is something wrong with alcohol is to admit their own culpability and we know that most people are loathe to admit their own guilt. How many people knew that cigarettes cause cancer yet, when they developed lung cancer, sued the cigarette companies for "trickeration" (thank you for that word don king). As long as there is very big money in alcohol and as long as most people partake, there will be beer commercials directed and the next generation of budding alcoholics.
This is one subject that really gets to me....As mentioned above it is just a matter of money. Once again the American people just sit back and let things happen. Not only does alcohol contribute to medicals issues, but it also kills and DESTROYS FAMILIES not to mention individuals. What a world we live in.
It really boils down to money. Just like the outdoor mags that don't show the tobacco ads anymore but open the cover and all you see are alcohol ads that are made to push the product. The magazine companies are getting huge revenue from these ads. No cutting off the arm that feeds them at least until it falls off.
"n June 1967, the Federal Communications Commission ruled that programs broadcast on a television station that discussed smoking and health were insufficient to offset the effects of paid advertisements that were broadcast for five to ten minutes each day. "We hold that the fairness doctrine is applicable to such advertisements," the Commission said. The FCC decision, upheld by the courts, essentially required television stations to air anti-smoking advertisements at no cost to the organizations providing such advertisements. In April 1970, Congress passed the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act banning the advertising of cigarettes on television and radio starting on January 2, 1971. [5] The Virginia Slims brand was the last commercial shown, with "a 60-second revue from flapper to Female Lib", shown at 11:59 p.m. on January 1 during a break on The Tonight Show.[37] Smokeless tobacco ads, on the other hand, remained on the air until a ban took effect on August 28, 1986.[38] Further restrictions are planned to take effect under the newly enacted Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The new regulations will require tobacco advertisements to consist of black text on a white background; the use of color is prohibited except under very limited circumstances."
Blaming alcohol for highway deaths is like blaming guns for crime. No gun ever took off and shot someone all by itself. It takes misuse by a person. And no beer truck ever took off by itself the wrong way down the interstate and killed anyone. People who drink too much do that. Focusing on the alcohol is almost criminally stupid. Nobody with a .08 blood alcohol level ever drove the wrong way down a highway and killed a minivan full of family members. Sure, a .08 level might slow your reflexes a bit, but so does getting older. They have taken a step to correct that idiocy here in Michigan. A new "superdrunk" law takes effect here on October 1st. My husband would know the details better than I but if you have a .17 or higher level, the penalties are jacked up, way up. That's the way to go. As far as your health is concerned, yes excessive alcohol consumption can ruin your health. But so can overconsumption of food. Have you ever checked out some of the patrons at the ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET? Are those people likely going to "live long and prosper?" You know the ones I mean. I don't think so. Should we ban food or food advertising? Let's get realistic people. And don't give me that addiction or genetic nonsense. Yeah, some people are more likely to get attached to the effects of alcohol than others. But you still have to buy it and drink it. The cure to that "addiction" is to stop buying it. And food? Yeah, some people gain weight more easily than others. The metabolism is different. But get real. If you don't eat, you will eventually get very scrawny and eventually starve to death. On the other hand, if you eat more than you need to maintain yourself, your body will store the excess as FAT. May The Sheep Be With You
I for one could care less if people drink alcohol or smoke. I have just noticed a hypocrisy of sorts in the governments regulation of advertisement in regards to alcohol as compared to tobacco.
No one is blaming alcohol for highway deaths but it plays a part. Out of 37,000 traffic fatalities nationwide over a third, 13,800, were alcohol related in 2008. You're not allowed to smoke in a restaurant, which the restaurant enforces, because second hand smoke is dangerous to others but you are allowed to get ****-faced, walk out the door get in your car and head down the road. If curing alcoholism were as simple as just "not buying it" I am quite sure there are a number of people that would have chosen that over losing their family, their homes, their jobs and their self respect. Saying an alcoholic chooses to destroy their life is extremely naive. Kind of like saying anorexic should choose to go back for seconds. Ever see someone with oral cancer keep smoking? All they had to do was stop buying cigarettes, right? How about watching someone with a portable oxygen cart turn off the oxygen so they could have a smoke? So, we ban cigarette advertising, ban tobacco products in the minor league dugouts, ban smoking in sports stadiums etc. yet we advertise alcohol every commercial break during every sports game played. Who's watching those games? Youngsters and their parents. What do you think the parents are drinking? What do you think the youngsters are learning? I wouldn't suggest banning alcohol, I like it too much but, perhaps we can stop the brain-washing of youngsters just like we did with tobacco.
Of course alcohol plays a part in highway deaths just as guns play a part in driveby shootings and other gun crimes. It's not the gun and it's not the alcohol. It's the individual with the gun or the drinker. Yes, the cure for an alcoholic is to simply stop buying/drinking. Yes, it's as simple as that. Sure, there may be some discomfort or even some severe physical illness. Malaria is a disease. Smallpox is a disease. You can't cure it by ceasing some activity. But if alcoholism is a disease, the cure is simple. You simply stop drinking. Is that going to be easy? I'll bet it isn't, but it's the cure. You're right, people don't choose to ruin their lives, but they do choose to drink and that's the choice that ruins their lives. And anorexics can go back for seconds. Nobody will stop them. They choose to not go back for seconds. I've never seen anyone with oral cancer but I have known someone with emphysema. And he smoked. And the smoking exacerbated his illness and eventually ended his life early. But he chose to smoke. He bought the cigarettes himself, lit them himself, and smoked them himself. Nobody forced him. This person you mention who turned off the oxygen so he could smoke? I'll bet he turned it off himself didn't he? I'll bet nobody turned it off and said, "Joe it's time for you to have a cigarette." In fact I'll bet there were people saying, "Joe why don't you quit? You're killing yourself." Am I right? When I went in for my first prenatal visit, the nurse told me I should expect to gain about 30 pounds. I told her she was nuts. We still don't get along all that well. I talked it over with the doctor and he told me that it can be dangerous to try to control your weight while pregnant. But there is a way to avoid needless gain. Your tail does not have to increase in size. Anything added there is pure fat. So I measured myself every day. Yup, every day. And I kept it between 27 and 27 1/2 inches. I got up to 86-87 pounds and then got back down again after the delivery to 74 pounds. I have an extra pound or pound and a half because I'm nursing. Did I feel hungry while I was pregnant? You better believe it. Do I feel hungry now while I'm nursing? I sure do. But I don't stuff myself with food. I don't understand women who say they used to be slender but you just can't help putting on the pounds after you've had a couple kids. That's just not true. My husband used to smoke long before I met him. One day he decided to quit. He said the headaches were pretty bad for a while, but eventually you get back to normal. Now as for advertising. I don't think the breweries, distillers, wineries, etc. advertise to recruit drinkers. Too many people drink already. I think it's mostly to try to get people to switch to their brand or to, at least, try their brand. In fact, wineries don't advertise much at all, but they seem to sell quite a bit of product at some fairly steep prices. But I just have to insist that any "disease" that you can cure simply by ceasng a certain activity doesn't really qualify as a disease. I don't drink now because I'm not old enough, but my children will not see their mother drinking to excess, nor will they see their father drinking to excess.
"Now as for advertising. I don't think the breweries, distillers, wineries, etc. advertise to recruit drinkers. " You better believe they advertise to recruit new drinkers, maintain existing drinkers. and to encourage drinking in general.
When I was your age life was just as simple as you think. Now that I have lived 3 of your lifetimes I understand it is a little more complex than just saying no LOL. Your children may not see you drinking to excess, when you are old enough, but they will see plenty of others, including schoolmates, and all of the advertising will tell them it is cool and OK.
Perhaps these guys don't realize that all they have to do is quit buying snuff . http://forums.bowhunting.com/showthread.php?t=4312
"I don't drink now because I'm not old enough, but my children will not see their mother drinking to excess, nor will they see their father drinking to excess. " I used to think the same thing until I was addicted. I no longer drink, but even after 17 years sobriety, when I see others enjoying a cold one, I still have the urge. I wouldn't wish alcoholism on anyone as I have seen what it did to my family, but I grew up swearing I was not going to be like my alcoholic father. In life, sometimes you have no control over your future. The only way you'll KNOW for sure that your kids will never see you or your husband intoxicated is to abstain. I'm sure there are those who will disagree and that's ok because this is America!
I think some folks have "addictive personalities..." I know I do, and I totally know my limits since I realized my problem. I am a three beer person - I know if I have more then that, it will be a LOT more. I almost drank myself out of college, but thankfully got mono and it literally took me down enough to know I was messing up. Now I never get drunk, but I do sip rum and have two beers with dinner from time to time (very infrequently). Many of my family were alcoholics, my dad was pummeling head first into it when I was a kid...and he did a little worse controlling it then I do, but he never made the tip over. I think there are genetics involved - can't prove it, but there always seems to be a thread among families.
"When I was your age..." Yeah, I hear that now and then. But you would hear the same thing from my mom, who is a little older than I am, and who worked as a cokctail waitress and bartender while I was growing up. And you would hear the same thing from my husband who is older than my mom, except they would express it less politely. I won't promise that my kids will never see me drunk, but if they do, I will be willing to acknowledge the fact that I VOLUNTARILY drank more than I should have. I hear from a reformed "alcoholic" now and then. I want to ask, how did it happen? Surgery? A course of potent antibiotics? Chemotherapy? Nope, the answer is always that they stopped drinking. Can it be addictive? Yes! Alcohol can be addictive. Excessive use can produce changes in the body which can result in anything from discomfort to severe illness (temporary of course) if the person stops drinking. But the cure still requires that one stop drinking. There is no other way. Can the addiction stay with you after you stop? I'm not sure about that, but I won't rule it out. Even if so, the solution is to NOT DRINK. My husband drinks, probably more than the average guy. He likes his beer. But halfway through his last beer, he'll call the waitress over and tell her we're going to cash out. His favorite phrase is from a Clint Eastwood movie, "A man's got to know his limitations." A disease is something like rabies from an animal bite, polio from a virus, cancer from who knows what, etc. But if you can cure it by just saying "No thanks," it ain't a disease. And I have no sympathy at all for someone who is willing to ruin his/her life when they could just switch to ginger ale. Her mom knows a lot of stories about drunks, some funny, some pretty disgusting
