Alcohol: Glorifying Abuse

Alcohol : Glorifying Abuse
By Austin Barcus

Advertisements in the United States lie and can have serious consequences. Nearly every form of social event involves alcohol. People use alcohol in social settings to cope with the pressures of socialization. It is encouraged by mass media and popular culture to consume copious amounts of alcohol. There have been countless films, television shows, commercials, advertisements, and music videos depicting the consumption of alcohol. They all allude to certain benefits of drinking alcohol such as the image of men being surrounded by women, people smiling as if it is the alcohol that is producing happiness, and it is commonly seen to be a drug used in celebratory social settings. It is required that alcoholic beverage companies say to drink responsibly in their advertisements and on their bottles. However, drinking responsibly does not increase revenue. These companies are profiting off of and cater to alcoholics.

Almost 88,000 people die every year due to alcohol-related causes according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Nearly seventeen million adults have alcohol-related issues. Almost twenty-five percent of people age twelve or older were current binge drinkers in 2015.

The United States needs to stop glorifying alcohol and do more than require beverage companies to say to "drink responsibly" in advertisements and on bottles. Drinking alcohol responsibly and in moderation is not necessarily a bad thing, but the dangers of abusing alcohol need to be addressed in mass media so that millions of Americans do not believe that they must rely on it in order to enjoy their daily lives.