Standard Drinks Equivalence Alcohol and Health Underage Drinking Distilled Spirits Advertising Distilled Spirits Excise Taxes Product Tasting Fact Sheet

A diverse collection of established experts recognize that "alcohol is alcohol is alcohol," and that there is no social, scientific or legal basis for treating distilled spirits advertising differently from other beverage alcohol advertising.

• All alcohol beverages have one thing in common - they contain alcohol. Standard servings of beer, wine and spirits -- a 12-ounce can of beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine and a cocktail with 1 1/2-ounces of 80- proof spirits -- all contain the same amount of absolute alcohol.
• The federal government (Departments of Health and Human Services, Agriculture, Transportation and Education), the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Blue Cross/Blue Shield and the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association all measure beverage alcohol equivalence the same way.
• The Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration concurred with other federal agencies in a 1995 Fact Sheet: "Alcohol is alcohol. Beer has the same effect as straight scotch."
• From the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD): "Beer and wine contain as much alcohol as liquor in standard servings. A lot of people think there is less risk in drinking beer or wine than in drinking liquor. They may have heard that the percentage of alcohol is lower in beer (around 5 percent) and wine (12 percent) than in liquor (usually 40 to 50 percent). But they may not know that beer, wine and liquor are also usually served in different sizes (12 ounces for beer; 5 ounces for wine; and 1 1/2 ounces of 80 proof liquor). So it works out that each one has the same amount of alcohol. It's just more diluted in beer and wine than in liquor. Beer, wine and liquor have the same effect if a person drinks them in a standard size serving and at the same rate."
• Because only beer and wine are currently advertised on television, viewers may infer the wrong message that one form of beverage alcohol is intrinsically more subject to abuse than another. This implication is contrary to the alcohol education message of the United States Government. All beverage alcohol is the same to a breathalyzer.

• The distilled spirits industry's voluntary Code of Good Practice for Distilled Spirits Advertising and Marketing, first adopted in 1934, contains more than 20 provisions on responsible content and responsible placement of spirits advertising.
• The fundamental principles of the Code apply to all distilled spirits advertising. These fundamentals are: (1) to ensure responsible, tasteful and dignified advertising and marketing of distilled spirits to adult consumers who choose to drink, and (2) to avoid targeting advertising and marketing of distilled spirits to individuals below the purchase age.
• Through its voluntary guidelines in the Code, the distilled spirits industry holds itself to a higher standard than required by any laws or regulations that apply to the marketing or advertising of beverage alcohol.

• Interactive media are already allowing computer users to read magazines and newspapers on their computer screens; new technology is redefining the traditional concept of separate media for print, television and computers. Placing distilled spirits advertising on electronic media is an acknowledgement of changing technology and the need to keep up with those changes.

• A 1990 U.S. Health and Human Services report to Congress states that "[r]esearch has yet to document a strong relationship between alcohol advertising and alcohol consumption."
• In 1985, the Federal Trade Commission concluded that its "review of the literature regarding the quantitative effect of alcohol advertising on consumption and abuse found no reliable basis to conclude that alcohol advertising significantly affects consumption, let alone abuse," and that "[a]bsent such evidence, there is no basis for concluding that rules banning or otherwise limiting alcohol advertising would offer significant protection to the public."
• A study conducted for the Joint Committee of the States to Study Alcoholic Beverage Laws found "the restrictiveness of [state] advertising control had no effect upon per capita consumption of alcohol beverages." Similar results have been found for British Columbia, Manitoba, Norway, Finland and the (former) Soviet Union.
• American Enterprise Institute Adjunct Scholar John E. Calfee stated in testimony before the House of Representatives: "In nations such as Russia ...alcoholism among all age groups has reached tragic proportions without the slightest assistance from advertising. Indeed, available evidence indicates little if any effects from legislated bans on alcohol advertising."

• The right to advertise is Constitutionally protected commercial free speech under the First Amendment. The First Amendment protection afforded to beverage alcohol advertising is equal in scope to the First Amendment protection afforded to the advertising of all other legal products and services.

• Distilled spirits advertising is regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Federal Trade Commission, as well as by state and local authorities.
• The government should not ban or restrict truthful and non-misleading advertising of a legal product. Effective brand competition and informed consumer choice depend on the free flow of commercial information. Television advertising, like any other form of advertising, is designed to enhance brand preference.

• According to a national survey by the Roper Starch research organization, when asked what influences their decisions to drink or not drink, over 60 percent of young people consistently cite their parents as their primary influence, 28 percent cite their peers, while only 4 percent cite advertisements.
• A recent survey conducted for the Horatio Alger Association found that 21.1 percent of adolescents considered drugs to be the single worst influence facing teens today. Twenty percent cited peer pressure while only 2.5 percent cited alcohol and 2.9 percent cited television.
• Through its public education programs, the distilled spirits industry urges responsible use by those adults who choose to drink and strongly opposes underage drinking, or abuse by any group.
• Distilled spirits industry programs include, among others, numerous public service advertising campaigns, funding the development of educational materials for use in schools, and cooperative education programs with government agencies and other groups. Member companies also support the independent Century Council, contribute to research and education funding through the Licensed Beverage Information Council, and conduct their own education campaigns.

• Statistics from the federal government report that:
  • Underage drinking is near its lowest level since 1974.
  • In 13 years, the number of teenage drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes has declined 68 percent.
  • Drunk driving fatalities of all age groups have declined 33 percent since 1982.
  • The proportion of high school seniors who drink is near its lowest point since 1975.
  • The proportion of high school seniors who were binge drinking in the last two weeks has declined 28 percent since 1981, and is near the lowest point since statistics were first compiled in 1975.