Alcohol Warning Sought in Anti-Drug Ads
A House Appropriations subcommittee voted Friday to require that the federal government’s five-year, $1-billion youth anti-drug advertising campaign include anti-alcohol messages as well.
By a voice vote, lawmakers approved an amendment by Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Los Angeles) requiring the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy to include the ads against underage drinking.
The Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, launched last year, has aired millions of messages, mostly on television. Officials say 95% of teens see the ads seven times a week.
None of the paid advertisements are about the potentially detrimental effects of alcohol, even though alcohol abuse afflicts four times as many people in the U.S. as drug abuse. About 15% of the pro bono public service announcements aired in conjunction with the media campaign deal with alcohol or drunken driving issues.
Roybal-Allard previously had expressed concerns about problem drinking among Mexican American men and questioned why the federal government’s main media efforts to curb youth substance abuse largely excluded anti-alcohol messages.
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