Media Essay - It’s Time to Ban the Advertising of Alcoholic Beverages

Media Essay - It’s Time to Ban the Advertising of Alcoholic Beverages Everywhere we go, we're bombarded by all sorts of advertisements. We can seldom go through one day without receiving at least one phone call from a telemarketer. Turn on the TV for 15 or 20 minutes and you'll see at least one 5-minute commercial break. Advertisements are abundant everywhere we go: alongside roads, at airports, and at train stations. Why is advertising so popular, why do so many companies pump millions of dollars each year into advertising? The answer is simple: ads inform people of products they otherwise wouldn't have heard of, they make products look appealing to so that people will buy them, and they allow advertisers to influence the general public to purchase their product. Generally speaking, this isn't a problem – companies make money and people get the products they need and want. What about products, though, that hurt, rather than help, people, products such as alcohol? Should advertising of such products, products that give way to so much harm, be al lowed? The biggest argument for the banning of advertising for alcoholic beverages points out the strong negative effects of alcohol on our society and the problems associated with alcohol. Alcoholism is a disease. According to the government-run NIAAA, or the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, alcoholism has a few easy to recognize symptoms. First of all, alcoholics have an addiction to alcohol. They constantly have a desire to consume more alcohol. This strong desire for alcohol leads to a loss of control. Rather than choosing when to drink and limiting the amount of alcohol consumption, alcoholics are controlled by their alcoholism. This desire is often overwhel... ... is no longer the popular thing; people are often looked down upon for it. We can accomplish the same with alcohol abuse. Works Cited "Alcoholism is a Family Disease." FamilyFun. (Online). Available http://family.go.com/yourtime/relationships/feature/kypa107alcohol/kypa107alcohol.html, February 25, 2003. "Frequently Asked Questions – Alcohol." National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. (Online). Available http://www.niaaa.nih.gov/faq/q-a-text.htm, February 25, 2003. Hanson, Prof. David J., Ph.D. "Alcohol Advertising." Alcohol: Problems and Solutions. (Online). Available http://www2.potsdam.edu/alcohol-info/Advertising/Advertising.html, February 25, 2003. Youth-Oriented Alcohol Advertising . 1997. Issue Briefs. Studio City, Calif.: Mediascope Press. Also available online at http://mediascope.org/pubs/ibriefs/yoaa.htm, February 25, 2003.