Please Drink Responsibly

OK, so tonight I attended a fantastic lecture on media literacy, particularly dealing with advertisements for alcohol and cigarettes. The lecture was given by social theorist Jean Kilbourne.

One interesting fact I picked up from the lecture had to do with the alcohol industry's supposed support of "drinking responsibly." According to Kilbourne, the alcohol industry depends on irresponsible drinking behavior. She stated that 10% of drinkers consume 60% of the alcohol, and 30% of drinkers consume 90% of the alcohol.

Kilbourne then gave this revealing statistic: If everyone in America drank responsibly (2 drinks a day for men, 1 for women), the alcohol industry's profits would plummet by 80%. And that statistic shows the results if everyone in America drank on a daily basis, including the 40% (120 million people) who currently do not drink.

I guess I always thought the alcohol industry was looking out for my best interests. Who knew?

Keep it real,

Ben