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Are you serving alcohol to underage drinkers?

About a month ago there was a big hoop-la in our community because a limousine driver reported to school officials that his passengers on the way to the Upper Arlington prom in the Arena District had alcohol. About 10 other limos were searched and 125 kids didn't get into the prom that night, even those who didn't know there was alcohol in the vehicles. Some parents were furious; some kids were heart broken.

And where are you on this? Are you serving alcohol to kids? The parents of the guilty, or older friends of the teens, obviously purchased it. If you own stock in any alcohol related industries, you too are serving children. An article published in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine (2006;160:473-478) reports that the short-term cash value of underage drinking to the alcohol industry was $22.5 billion in 2001--17.5% of total consumer expenditures for alcohol. Well-designed public service announcements about "responsible" drinking are a drop in the ocean of booz. But the study didn't stop with that. It went on to figure the consumer expenditures for underage drinkers to maintain their consumption as adult drinkers with abuse and dependency, which equaled at least $25.8 billion in 2001. Teen age brains are still forming and alcohol and cigarettes consumed before adulthood have much more serious consequences for addictions and health. If you can get to 21 without starting, you probably won't have a problem and will be responsible.

So, the combined value of illegal underage drinking and adult pathological drinking to the industry was at least $48.3 billion, or 37.5% of consumer expenditures for alcolhol in 2001. Some estimates mentioned in the study place it even higher than that, at $62.9 billion and 48.8% of consumer expenditures.

If any business were to lose over 17% of its consumers' purchases, it would be hurting. But how much are they, and stockholders, hurting us? The alcohol industry needs to cultivate the underage drinker in order to be profitable, and no amount of chit-chat or sweet talk about "responsibility" is going to change that. But you don't have to participate in this fairy tale--just get it out of your portfolio. Just say No to alcohol profits.

The abstract of this article appeared in JAMA, July 26, 2006, Vol. 296, no. 4, p. 373.