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AMA Policy Consolidation:  Labeling, Advertising, and Promotion of Alcoholic Beverages

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This report is a Council on Scientific Affairs’ initiative to consolidate several current policies of the American Medical Association (AMA) on the issues of alcoholic beverage labeling, advertising, and promotion. These policies incorporate various levels of restrictions, and target various locations or venues where alcohol is used, advertised, or promoted. Additionally, these policies address alcoholic beverages from the perspective of providing accurate health information to adults and youth in appropriate ways so as to reduce abuse of alcohol and to prevent its promotion to and use by minors. As a whole, these policies form a strong stance supporting the reduction of harmful and underage use of alcohol, encouraging accurate labeling, and supporting restrictions on advertising that may contribute to the consumption of alcohol by minors or the potentially hazardous consumption of alcohol by adults. Consolidation will facilitate use of these policies by advocates in and outside of our membership. These policies remain relevant as the alcoholic beverage industry continues to try to expand its advertising reach, particularly with regard to college-age students. Additionally, existing AMA programs are devoted to reducing binge-drinking on campuses.

As stated in AMA Policy H-600.111, the purpose of policy consolidation is to make information on AMA policy more accessible. Policy consolidation also will improve the organization of the AMA PolicyFinder program database. The purpose of policy consolidation does not include the establishment of new policy positions. Consequently, Policy H-600.111 states that the recommendations in policy consolidation reports cannot be amended and must be voted upon in their entirety. Changes in AMA policy can be accomplished through other types of reports or by resolutions that are submitted to the AMA House of Delegates.

RECOMMENDATIONS

As recommended by the Council on Scientific Affairs, the AMA House of Delegates consolidated AMA policy on the labeling, advertising, and promotion of alcoholic beverages as follows:

Labeling, Advertising, and Promotion of Alcoholic Beverages

The AMA:

1. (a) Supports accurate and appropriate labeling disclosing the alcohol content of all beverages, including so-called "nonalcoholic" beer and other substances as well, including over-the-counter and prescription medications, with removal of "nonalcoholic" from the label of any substance containing any alcohol; (b) supports efforts to educate the public and consumers about the alcohol content of so-called "nonalcoholic" beverages and other substances, including medications, especially as related to consumption by minors; (c) urges the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and other appropriate federal regulatory agencies to continue to reject proposals by the alcoholic beverage industry for authorization to place beneficial health claims for its products on container labels; and (d) urges the development of federal legislation to require nutritional labels on alcoholic beverages in accordance with the Nutritional Labeling and Educational Act;
2. (a) Expresses its strong disapproval of any consumption of "nonalcoholic beer" by persons under 21 years of age, which creates an image of drinking alcoholic beverages and thereby may encourage the illegal underaged use of alcohol; (b) recommends that health education labels be used on all alcoholic beverage containers and in all alcoholic beverage advertising (with the messages focusing on the hazards of alcohol consumption by specific population groups especially at risk, such as pregnant women, as well as the dangers of irresponsible use to all sectors of the populace); and (c) recommends that the alcohol beverage industry be encouraged to accurately label all product containers as to ingredients, preservatives, and ethanol content (by percent, rather than by proof);
3. Actively supports and will work for a total statutory prohibition of advertising of all alcoholic beverages except for inside retail or wholesale outlets. Pursuant to that goal, our AMA (a) supports continued research, educational, and promotional activities dealing with issues of alcohol advertising and health education to provide more definitive evidence on whether, and in what manner, advertising contributes to alcohol abuse; (b) opposes the use of the radio and television to promote drinking; (c) will work with state and local medical societies to support the elimination of advertising of alcoholic beverages from all mass transit systems; (d) urges college and university authorities to bar alcoholic beverage companies from sponsoring athletic events, music concerts, cultural events, and parties on school campuses, and from advertising their products or their logo in school publications; and (e) urges its constituent state associations to support state legislation to bar the promotion of alcoholic beverage consumption on school campuses and in advertising in school publications;
4. Urges producers and distributors of alcoholic beverages to discontinue advertising directed toward youth, such as promotions on high school and college campuses; (b) urges advertisers and broadcasters to cooperate in eliminating television program content that depicts the irresponsible use of alcohol without showing its adverse consequences (examples of such use include driving after drinking, drinking while pregnant, or drinking to enhance performance or win social acceptance); (c) supports continued warnings against the irresponsible use of alcohol and challenges the liquor, beer, and wine trade groups to include in their advertising specific warnings against driving after drinking; and (d) commends those automobile and alcoholic beverage companies that have advertised against driving while under the influence of alcohol.

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