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I firmly believe alcohol marketing is a major contributor toward alcohol continuing to be one of the most destructive drugs in our society. It's glamorized in a
by mgce 9y ago
I firmly believe alcohol marketing is a major contributor toward alcohol continuing to be one of the most destructive drugs in our society. It's glamorized in a a savvy and well-funded way that puts an incessant haze in our understanding of it as a a powerful, poisonous, and potentially debilitating substance.
You can find billboards that make bottles of liquor look like royal treasure passed down from the gods. It's ultimately poison in a bottle. This kind of glorification of it hurts people who don't have the ability to enjoy it without consequence (i.e. millions of people in the U.S.).
- rm_-rf_slash 9y agoOn one hand, who can forget this wonderful slice from South Park: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WrVLB3MtUjo https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WrVLB3MtUjo On the other, alcohol use is highly cultural. In Italy, everybody drinks. A glass of wine or two with lunch and dinner is totally normal. Yet I never have seen a sauced Italian. Compare it to the Brits, who drink like fish. In fact, the ancient Romans repeatedly tried and failed to replace the local binge drinking culture with their own casual Mediterranean cafe culture. The reason Americans drink too much is simply because American culture values getting sauced. Even responsible adults remember their adolescent years with some fondness and so there isn't much of a cultural impetus to stop drinking or to drink less.
- mywittyname 9y agoPeople have been writing about the disastrous effects of alcohol abuse since long before billboards existed. Cultures throughout history made laws against drunkenness. In fact, abuse used to be so pervasive that 100 years ago the USA passed a constitutional amendment banning it!