Bill Calls for Health Warnings in Alcohol Ads

Spuds McKenzie, the black-and-white dog that peddles a brand of beer, could be headed for the endangered species list if industry fears about a measure now before Congress come true.

Legislation by Rep. Joseph Kennedy, D-Mass., would require that all print, radio and television advertisements and promotional displays for alcoholic beverages include prominent health and safety warning messages detailing specific risks related to drinking.

“As a society, we seem to be unwilling to even give the basic warnings,” Kennedy said. “We’ll let tens and tens of thousands of ads be shown on television to our children to have them think if they want to win that race, if they want to get the good car, find the prettiest girl, they have to drink.

“Let’s take advantage of the brains that God gave us and recognize that if there’s some problem with a particular product, we probably ought to use it moderately or avoid it under certain circumstances,” Kennedy said.

But groups representing the alcohol, broadcasting and advertising industries have massed in opposition to the plan. They say it would effectively lead to a ban on virtually all forms of advertising for beer, wine and liquor.

Saying alcohol is a factor in half of the nation’s motor vehicle deaths and homicides, Kennedy said his legislation is designed to combat alcohol abuse by giving the public the ability to make a “balanced and informed choice.”

James Sanders, president of the Beer Institute, called the legislation “prohibitionist.” The trade association represents firms that produce and sell about 90% of the nation’s beer, including industry giants Anheuser-Busch, Miller, Stroh’s and Coors.

“If they can tax it enough, if they can eliminate advertising, if they can mix it in with the drug war, then they will have achieved a prohibition without passing a prohibition amendment,” Sanders said. “They feel that alcohol is the problem, not the people who drink it.”

The legislation calls for a rotation of five warnings in ads:

* “Drinking during pregnancy may cause mental retardation and other birth defects.”

* “Alcohol impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery.”

* “Alcohol may be hazardous if you are using any other drugs such as over-the-counter, prescription or illicit drugs.”

* “Drinking alcohol may become addictive.”

* “It’s against the law to purchase alcohol for persons under age 21.”

In print advertisements, the warnings would include a toll-free telephone number operated by the Federal Trade Commission to give information about alcohol abuse. In broadcast advertisements, the warnings would have to be read “in an audible and deliberate manner and in a length of time that allows for a clear understanding.”

Companion legislation sponsored by Sen. Albert Gore, D-Tenn., is pending in the Senate.

Consumer groups and substance abuse experts have given strong support for the measure. The American Civil Liberties Union, however, has expressed its doubts about the constitutionality of the legislation.

Health warnings have been required on alcohol product labels since last year.