Alcohol advertisement should be banned
Alcohol is the natural substance found in alcoholic drinks such as beers, wine, hard liquors and liqueurs. It is formed through the fermentation process. Alcohol can also be artificially manufactured and added into drinks. There are many types of alcoholic drinks sold in the market as well as illegal ones known as samsu. The alcoholic drinks are both locally manufactured as well as imported.
Excessive alcohol consumption is unquestionably bad for one’s health. Numerous researchers indicate that alcohol consumption on a regular basis destroys the liver and oesophagus. Thus alcohol advertisement in the print media and cinemas which encourages one to consume alcoholic drinks should be banned.
Alcohol consumption also impairs one’s ability to drive or concentrate on certain activities as the alcohol which enters the blood stream rapidly distorts one’s coordination. In fact, police statistics show that drunk driving is among the major contributors to fatal accidents. Many innocent lives have been lost as a result of irresponsible drunkards on the road. Alcohol advertisement portrays that those who drink are macho and manly. It indirectly presents the view that only man who drink is “real man” and those who don’t are weaklings.
Thus, the number of alcoholics in this country has seen an exponential increase. To be sure, Alcohol Anonymous (AA) has reported that more and more people are seeking help for alcohol abuse. This attests tot he popularity of alcoholic drinks despite the high government taxes on these “sin” items. According to AA, alcohol advertisements play an important role in influencing particularly the young to pick up the habit.
More and more working women too are getting hooked on drinking. Instead of relegating drinking alcohol to social occasions, we se an increasing number of both men and women drinking alcohol excessively and regularly. Alcoholic drinks give a false sense of confidence and boldness. it is quite common to see those who had too much to drink behaving inappropriately as the alcohol looses one’s inhibitions. In fact, many young female teenagers report of how their males friends introduce them to alcoholic drinks and force them to get drunk. In fact, it is quite common to hear of date rape as a result of this.
Thus, the media should be more scrupulous in terms of its advertising content. Advertisement is an important source of revenue particularly advertisements related to alcohol which generates huge sums of profit for the media companies. However, the media must be more responsible in how it sources its revenues. It has an important role to play in ridding society of its vices. It can begin by banning alcohol advertisements and instead run advertisements that shows the public the dangerous consequences of alcohol consumption.
The money spent on consuming alcohol can be diverted into better buying products such as health supplements and health food. The media should instead encourage these products to be advertised by offering an attractive rate.
Hence, it is clear that advertisements directly influence alcohol consumption. Hence, the ban on alcohol advertisements should be affected immediately. Too many families and individuals have been destroyed by this vice.
