Beer and Concerts

Paul Grein’s July 30 article, “Suds ‘n’ Bucks ‘n’ Rock ‘n’ Roll,” cogently illustrates the beer makers’ voracious appetite for profit and the “futures” market as they target the young by sponsoring rock concerts.

And kudos to retiring U.S. Surgeon Gen. C. Everett Koop, quoted in the article, for his efforts to: (1) eliminate alcohol sponsorship of concerts and athletic contests where much of the audience is likely to be under the drinking age; (2) eliminate the use in alcohol ads of celebrities who appeal to youths, and (3) develop training for community groups in opposing alcohol ads.

With “the prime concert audience and the prime beer-drinking market (overlapping) to a degree that is a marketer’s dream” (as Grein wrote in referring to the 18-to-24-year-old bracket), small wonder that young people are continuing to self-destruct through vehicle crashes, homicide and suicide as their leading causes of death--all alcohol-related in the majority of incidents. Small wonder, too, that 65% of violations of California’s alcoholic beverage control laws involve illegal sales to minors.

RAY CHAVIRA

Board Member, Latino Council on Alcohol and Tobacco

San Gabriel