It’s Time To Cap Alcohol Marketing To Minors

When it comes to alcohol advertisements, we could use an agreement similar to the one we have with Big Tobacco. But let’s put some punch behind it. Children are awash in media messages, and we keep missing opportunities to do the right thing. In 1998, then-Attorney General Richard Blumenthal led the way for officials from 46 states, the District of Columbia, and five territories to sign a Master Settlement Agreement with U.S. tobacco companies. In signing, tobacco companies agreed to stop marketing to young people, and the American Legacy Foundation was formed and began to discourage teens from smoking — often with edgy, hard-to-forget television ads.