Something Different?
I never heard or seen these but I figured it was definitely different then all the rest of the articles on the American Medical Association website. Plus, I like the name of the drink to be honest. Alcopop has a nice ring to it.
"Alcopop" marketing spikes drinking in teen girls
e-mail story | print story
December 16, 2004
Results of two nationwide polls conducted by the AMA show that "alcopops," or sweet-flavored malt beverages, are being used by liquor companies as gateway beverages to attract underage girls to drinking.
"Alcopops are anything but harmless, cool and fashionable," said J. Edward Hill, MD, president-elect of the AMA, during a Dec. 16 news conference at the AMA's Chicago headquarters. Dr. Hill expressed his concern about the targeting of these types of beverages toward youth, especially teenage girls.
"The percentage of girls who drink is on the rise faster than boys, and the average age of their first drink is now 13," he said. "These troubling trends make the aggressive marketing of so-called 'girlie-drinks' even more dangerous."
The findings of the polls show that the marketing of these beverages affect the teenage girl population the greatest. The polls found that:
approximately one-third of teen girls report having tried alcopops, and one out of six have done so in the past six months;
31 percent of teen girls have had alcopops in the past six months, compared to 19 percent of boys;
teen girls report drinking alcopops more than other alcoholic drinks, whereas women age 21 or older rank the drinks as their least-consumed alcoholic beverage;
nearly one in six teen girls who have consumed alcopops in the past six months have been sexually active after drinking;
51 percent of teen girls have seen alcopop ads; nearly half of all girls aged 16-18 report seeing alcopop ads on TV, compared to only 34 percent of women 21 and older; and
teen girls report seeing or hearing more alcopop ads on TV, radio, billboards, the Internet and in magazines than women 21or older.
"Previous studies and these new polls show that teenagers see such ads more than their legal-age counterparts," Dr. Hill explained. "Parents should be outraged that these products clearly target and reach underage girls."
"The difference in female physiology means that teen girls feel greater impairment from alcohol and encounter alcohol-related problems faster, including brain damage, cancer, cardiac complications and other medical disorders. Any alcohol is a drug with real health and medical consequences."
The polls were funded by the AMA's partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
The funny thing is that the article is suppose to discourage people from letting their kids or teens themselves from trying it but I just want to see what it is now, maybe try it if I got a chance cause I know me personnally wouldn't start drinking like a fish if I tried it. Anyone else feel that way or just me?
On a sidenote Harry Potter in like 3 hrs and 46 min to give a rough estimste!