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Environmental Prevention

Strategy 3: Impacting Media Messages

Messages promoting alcohol, tobacco and other drugs are pervasive. These messages come from many sources including movies, television, radio, billboards, magazines, the internet, sporting events, community festivals, posters, t-shirts and music.

Media messages about alcohol, tobacco and other drugs provide many opportunities for individuals to learn how to use, circumstances where it is acceptable or even desirable to use, how to improve their use techniques and an association with positive consequences of use.

Advertising the two most abused drugs, alcohol and tobacco, alone provides ample opportunities for high risk messages about these substances. The alcohol and tobacco industries spend millions of dollars each year marketing their products, and for a good reason: it works.

Media messages do not only impact the individual. They also play a key role in establishing community norms. Therefore, impacting media messages not only impacts individuals, but also creates environmental change. For example, eliminating tobacco advertising on television in the 1970s contributed significantly to a change in the public’s perception of smoking.

Reducing the alcohol and tobacco industries’ access to communities by prohibiting marketing and promotion to underage, high-risk, and intoxicated people can have a significant impact on substance abuse within a community.

This strategy has been used for decades by communities attempting to reduce alcohol, tobacco and other drug use within their environment. As a strategy, it can provide a clear target (i.e.: local vendor) and a concrete “win” (i.e.: removal of a billboard) when efforts are successful.

What communities can do:

• Monitor alcohol advertising:  Look for alcohol ads on TV shows, in magazines and on radio stations that are popular with underage youth. Complaints can be filed with the Federal Trade Commission, the Beer Institute or Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.
• Limit or eliminating advertising: Reducing or eliminating alcohol and/or tobacco advertising in community publications, billboards, and in other easily accessed venues within a community.
• Limit sponsorships: Assess the appropriateness of alcohol and/or tobacco industry sponsorship of sporting events, community festivals, and other activities. Consider the percentage of the audience that is underage, and whether the event attracts families. Limit alcohol sales, sponsorship and advertising as appropriate at that event or venue. Discontinue sales before the event is over to increase time without alcohol before driving.
• Reduce promotions: Limiting the rate of drinking establishment promotions, like happy hours and drinking contests, that encourage high risk drinking.
• Reach out to the media:  Develop strong relationships with the local media to increase news coverage of community changes that have reduced alcohol, tobacco and other drug related problems. Share positive trends in local statistics to help get the message out that everyone doesn’t do it.
• Advocate with the entertainment industry nationally: Call on film studios and the alcohol and tobacco industries to cease product placements in PG-13 movies.
• Advocate with the entertainment industry locally: Call on a local television station to not air a specific program due to its content. Call on a radio station to monitor its musical content as well as the messages given by on-air personalities.

For more information on the impact of media messages and how to harness the power of the media to promote low-risk messages the following resources are recommended.

Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth
The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University monitors the marketing practices of the alcohol industry to focus attention and action on industry practices that jeopardize the health and safety of America's youth.

Marin Institute
The Marin Institute is an alcohol industry watchdog based in California and a resource for solutions to community alcohol problems.

Center for Science in the Public Interest
Since 1971, the Center for Science in the Public Interest has been a strong advocate for nutrition and health, food safety, alcohol policy, and sound science.

CADCA’s Stratgizer called Alcohol Advertising: Its Impact on Communities, and What Coalitions Can Do to Lessen that Impact provides information about the tactics used by the alcohol industry to target communities with their messages and what strategies coalition can implement to decrease or eliminate alcohol advertising.  A model city ordinance for eliminating alcohol advertising is included.

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