Many years ago it was the tobacco companies that commanded the attention of our youth. Now it would appear that the big alcohol companies are honing in on the younger market, particularly young women who through increased earnings and social equality have become the perfect target to a well oiled advertising machine. While you can’t find ads on TV for a pack of camels, we are instead bombarded with ‘cool’ and ‘chic’ commercials for all kinds of different beers, wines and liquor. Possibly the most frustrating aspect of the advertising used by ‘big alcohol’ is that they remind us to drink responsibly, not to drink and drive and various other techniques to encourage people not to go overboard with their products. But this billion dollar industry does not stay profitable if their target consumers are drinking ‘responsibly’, in fact it increases profits exponentially if young women are irresponsible.
While most people drink moderately — one or two drinks on occasion — that’s not where the alcohol industry makes its money. The Alcohol Research Group in Berkeley has compiled surveys of thousands of drinkers. They found that heavy drinking supports the industry.
The alcohol industry is selling an image to women. An image of good times and happy endings to a night out at the bar. Irresponsible drinking is on the rise amongst women, and many simply won’t grow out of it, in fact, according to Ms. Ann Johnston author of “Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women And Alcohol”, many women will grow into it.
Another part of the alcohol’s sales pitch is that for women to really enjoy life and have great things happen, you have to drink, but as Ms. Johnston states in her book, women drink for emotional reasons, to escape, and to numb inner pain, a combination of these reasons make them ample targets to the alcohol giants who have been and will continue to capitalize on this rapidly growing market.
“Let’s dream for a minute, and suppose that both men and women adopted a less risky manner of drinking. If this were to happen, the alcohol industry would stand to lose close to half its market. Which is exactly why the alcohol industry lobbies for the status quo. Deep pockets can purchase plenty of political silence— silence that is proving all too costly on the public health front. It’s time for change.” – Ann Johnston