Poll: Should alcohol advertisement be banned?

[Woodsey]

I think the difference between smoking is that when they put that "drink responsibly" tagline on alcohol ads, its not their for show. You can drink responsibly. Smoking? Not really.

They both do damage but they don't do it in the same way, and they don't affect you in the same way.

 

[zefiewings]

I'm not sure how I feel about the banned thing...I guess I am just hesitent to slap that lable on things just because I don't agree with it because if people were to try to do that to stuff I like I would be sad. (which they do, being a gamer)

I do think that some commercials have reached a new level of pathetic though. Remember being in school and there would be these lectures on how media is bad because it puts the subconscious idea that you are not cool if you don't drink/smoke etc, with all the beautiful girls and cool looking friends hanging around? At leased it was just an underlining message then. Anyone seen the "I'm in/ I'm out" beer commercial? They are actually coming out and saying these things now! No interpretation necessary, just plain you are not cool if you don't drink. The only only way I can see them sinking any lower is if the commercial consisted only of a photo of the bear and the line "losers don't drink. Are you a loser?"

While I agree that to much power of baning can be bad, this is a substance that is destructive for the human body and mind. I also think that people that are easly influenced by a comercial may need some better guidance and education.

Granted. I wouldn't shed a tear over it if it were to happen. (then again...I don't have T.V so i might not even notice) but I don't think I could bring myself to say...vote for it in a council or something.
I also agree to a point about the "better guidance" thing. I don't think I find myself giving much sway to commercials. But I think there is a high chance that they leave their mark on you a little, at the very leased if there is even one thing about it that catches your attention.
I have never had a beer. (one sip was enough../barf) I still haven't been to a bar for my 19th birthday over a year ago, and that is not for lack of friends who are trying to get me to go. Drinking commercials don't even make me look up. I'm not interested.
I can't pretend that commercials have no power over me at all. (much as I wish this to be true). Just ask anyone who happens to be around me if the Skyrim commercial comes on. It's all I can do to not drool all over what I am doing at the time.

 

[Idlemessiah]

I am of the opposite thinking as you. I think the tobacco laws have gotten absolutely rediculous.

I fully endorse putting bands in all alcohol advertisements.

For serious though, while I don't think drinking is really a good thing at all, most people in the U.S. would agree that a little social drink doesn't hurt anybody. With tobacco, there's a risk of harming yourself and others from the get-go.

At least that's how I see it.

It has actually been proven that in moderation red wine is actually good for you.

So is Guinness. Lots of iron, good for your blood. Half a pint a day is supposed to be good during pregnancy too.

And as for advertising it? Yeah its bad to advertise intoxicating substances, so why are beer ads still on but baccy ones not? I can't say but its a little hypocritical of the censoring agencies.

 

[BabyRaptor]

Personally, I think tobacco laws are WAY too strict. I was hardcore pissed when the US passed laws banning flavored cigarettes because they were supposedly targeted towards minors.

As to alcohol...Well, same deal. At the risk of sounding like a Conservative, where the Fuck is personal responsibility? It's not the alcohol company's fault your kids are out drinking...It's yours. Stop expecting everyone else to raise your kids for you.

 

[VanTesla]

Good on you sir. Reply to zefiewings.

Off topic: this site is getting on my nerves with the buggyness...

 

[icyneesan]

But then we'd loose out on funny beer commercials. Assuming I was America. I doubt this would fly in Canada.

 

[Rensenhito]

Hmm. Good question. Alcohol, though, is not quite as bad for you as tobacco, given that it's processed by the liver, which is built for that kind of stuff. With tobacco, you're literally just pulling toxic fumes into your lungs, which are NOT built for that kind of stuff. So, for medical reasons, I'd say no.
Also, alcohol is way more ingrained into our society than tobacco. I mean, look at Prohibition. Hell, you don't even have to look at it directly; look at the way it's taught! We're basically taught that American society ceased to be a functional machine when they took away our booze.

 

[Nieroshai]

Personally I think there's a time and place for advertising it, such as prime time and on more mature channels. I'm not really FOR banning anything unless it proves to be detrimental to society.

 

[lacktheknack]

I fully endorse putting bands in all alcohol advertisements.

For serious though, while I don't think drinking is really a good thing at all, most people in the U.S. would agree that a little social drink doesn't hurt anybody. With tobacco, there's a risk of harming yourself and others from the get-go.

At least that's how I see it.

It has actually been proven that in moderation red wine is actually good for you.

Bad study was fail. By their own research, non-concentrate grape juice is just as good, except cheaper and it removes the nasty side-effects of alcohol. Besides, no one actually drinks red wine in moderation and no other alcohols, except the strictest social drinkers.

OT: It tobacco marketing is banned, then so should alcohol advertising. If not, then not. They're both equally bad (albeit in different ways), and I see no need for a double standard.

 

[ChildofGallifrey]

I'm 100% for legalizing all drugs, whether it's marijuana, tobacco, alcohol or meth, and keeping them legal, but that doesn't mean I'm pro-drugs.

I've had a similar outlook for a while, and I've never so much as smoked a single cigarette. I think (and would probably be proven wrong in spectacular fashion) that if all drugs were legalized then they would lose all of their mysticism (for lack of a better word). Having drugs being illegal is like telling a small child not to do something, e.g. it only makes them want to do it more. Take the mystery and thrill out of it, and a good bit of the fun will likely follow.

OT: I don't have a problem with alcohol advertisements. Alcohol is nothing more than a carefully regulated drug. Most people who can legally purchase alcohol are mature enough to know their limits and stop when they feel they've reached them. Minors who obtain alcohol illegally, on the other hand, are one bottle of whiskey and one monster hangover away from learning why binge drinking is not fun in the slightest.

 

[NoDamnNames]

In the U.S.A Tobacco advertising was banned (mostly all) on June 22, 2010 for being bad for the public. Alcohol in many ways is as bad or worse than tobaco, so why should it still be allowed in media? Alcohol comercials and advertisement send a negative message that supports bad choices and makes it look like it's cool to drink. So why is it ok to have this advertiement, but not be able to advertise tobaco?

How is advertising alcohol justified? I am not trying to be politicaly correct or trying to band alcohol, but end the advertisement of showing it in some sort of positive light. Is this wrong in thinking that it is better for the publics intrest? What are your thoughts on the subject?

If people are so weak minded that advertisements have a profound and detrimental effect on their fragile psyche we shouldn't ban alcohol advertising, we should ban all advertising completely. Then we can put our head between our legs and sit huddled in a corner praying that Darwin was wrong.

 

[Limecake]

here in canada tobacco ad's are banned (just like the US) and Alcohol has very strict guidelines you must follow when advertising alcohol (this includes both brands of alcohol and places that serve alcohol.

-you cannot specifically mention price of drinks
"we're selling bud light at $5 a six-pack"

-you cannot attempt to influence non-drinkers to start drinking your alcohol
"you don't drink beer, your friends drink bud light, don't you like being popular?"

-you cannot encourage people to buy or consume your alcohol
"Buy Bud light!" "Drink Bud Light!"

-you cannot show (or imply) your product is being consumed in your advertisement
"I'm going to drink a bud light, watch me drink it right now!"

there are several more they can all be found here:

http://www.crtc.gc.ca/eng/general/codes/alcohol.htm

as for your question I would support banning alcohol ad's. I'm a radio man myself so it would be nice to not have to work around all these advertising rules (radio stations are not allowed to 'give away' alcohol for contests etc.)

 

[Yopaz]

Alcohol advertising is banned here in Norway, and I am all for it.

Alcohol is a poison, and I see no reason to allow manufacturers to advertise it.

Not that I am against alcohol use though, I love that stuff.

This post says it all for my case. It's banned here and there's no reason to advertise it. Still having a beer every now and then is great.

 

[Mittens The Kitten]

Immagine the revenu from taxes on legalized marijuana.

I doubt the tax money from an MJ sin tax would be all that impressive.

 

[Idlemessiah]

The difference between alcohol and tobacco is alcohol really only causes immediate physical harm if consumed in copious amounts (which the fine print of all liquor ads discourage). Tobacco causes harm for every cigarette you consume, whether you smoke 1 or 50 a day. When consumed in reasonable amounts and in responsible situations, alcohol is much safer than tobacco. Plus, there is no equivalent to "secondhand smoke" with alcohol.

I have a bone to pick with your reasoning here, Its a long bone, like a femur.

Spoiler

1 pint won't kill you. 1 cig wont kill you.
40 pints will fuck you up and likely kill you. 40 cigs will make you wheezy and have bad breath all night.
2 pints a day for a lifetime will make you fat and destroy your liver. 4-5 fags a day will give you skin problems and destroy your lungs.

What I'm saying is, in the short term, and in large quantities, alcohol is much more likely to kill you than cigs. However in the long term, and with regular consumption, they are both incredibly bad for you.

An example. I smoke between 4 and 15 cigs in a day, depending on what I'm doing, and I drink 2-3 times a week. I'm 21 and in mild health.
A friend of mine at uni doesn't smoke, but drinks between 2 and 10 pints a day, depending again on what he's doing. He's 22, in mild health but he is very overweight because of all the beer he drinks.

But I digress. I don't know where you are going with beer being safer than tobacco. It's not better for your health, and it certainly isn't better from a mental focus standpoint. Smoking does not remove you basic functions.

And lastly, you're right, you don't get secondhand smoke with alcohol. The effects of drinking on other people tends to be; getting sworn at, getting asked if you want to fight, getting killed by them as their car mounts the pavement and a myriad of other offensive, abusive and downright deadly behaviour.

Tl:dr
Alcohol and tobacco are just as poisonous as each other, no matter how much you have, and they are both dangerous to other people, but in different ways (see last paragraph under spoiler).

 

[kloiberin_time]

Good idea. Lets ban advertising of things we don't like. Fuck the first amendment, that could hurt the kids.

While we are at it fast food kills people too. So no more McDonald's commercials.

If we advertise condoms kids might think it is ok to have sex, those have to go to.

Late night adult phone chat? More like sin chat. GONE.

I know I am using a slippery slope fallacy for my argument, but just because YOU feel that drinking is the devil does not mean that I do, or that it is. Having a few drinks in moderation is not a bad thing (IMHO) These adds are not telling people to go out, get hammered, try and drive home and then beat their wives. They are saying that their beer tastes better (which is a lie and will continue to be until there is a Chimey Trapple commercial) or something similar.

No, by all means restrict it to things aimed at adults (which they do. You can't play a Miller Light commercial in the middle of Yo Gabba Gabba or even re-runs of Veronica Mars) but outright banning them IS anti-American.

 

[Tiger Sora]

Alcohol commercials I think will never be banned in Canada. Alcohol is ingrained in our culture. Alot of people are damn proud of the fact. Though according to Limecake they're apparently heavily regulated. I didn't know that but I think alot of people wouldn't like it if Molson Canadian or Sleeman's couldn't have they're commercials.

 

[lacktheknack]

I know I am using a slippery slope fallacy for my argument, but just because YOU feel that drinking is the devil does not mean that I do, or that it is. Having a few drinks in moderation is not a bad thing (IMHO) These adds are not telling people to go out, get hammered, try and drive home and then beat their wives. They are saying that their beer tastes better (which is a lie and will continue to be until there is a Chimey Trapple commercial) or something similar.

No, by all means restrict it to things aimed at adults (which they do. You can't play a Miller Light commercial in the middle of Yo Gabba Gabba or even re-runs of Veronica Mars) but outright banning them IS anti-American.

First amendment gets overruled when it causes real harm. Also, I'm not American, so that leaves me unconvinced.

 

[Saulkar]

But then we'd loose out on funny beer commercials. Assuming I was America. I doubt this would fly in Canada.

Fuck no, EH?!