Drunk History

Last month the web series “Drunk History” was launched as a new television series by Comedy Central.  This weekly, half-hour series features historical re-enactments that are narrated by drunk storytellers who struggle to tell the story. “Drunk History” is just one example of a recent, more overt trend in television drinking.  

“Drunk History” fans rave that the show is hilarious, and all in good fun. After all, who doesn’t enjoy a good laugh?  Unfortunately the normalization of heavy drinking in pop culture, whether on television, in movies, videos, or in popular song lyrics, is prevalent in today’s society.  This has created social and cultural norms that influence how much people drink, how they drink, and levels of alcohol-related harm. Too often those that are impacted the most by the normalization of heavy drinking are children, youth, and young adults.

In a study of young adult males, alcohol portrayal on television was shown to affect actual drinking behaviour, and a recent report on alcohol portrayal in the movies found youth who watched a lot of movies that featured alcohol were twice as likely to start drinking compared to their peers. So what’s the answer?  As a starting point we need to acknowledge that the normalization of heavy drinking in popular media plays a significant role in the culture of alcohol in society, on consumption patterns, and the level of alcohol-related harm that follows.  Only then will we be able to start changing the current culture and perhaps in doing so, re-write our own history.

Please Enjoy Responsibly

Just last week in my daily newspaper I found another glossy, 40 page magazine from the LCBO called “ON TAP: Beer at the LCBO”.  This well designed and appealing magazine does such a good job at marketing, that despite not being someone who enjoys drinking beer, I found myself contemplating a trip to one of our local outlets to see if even I could find a beer I like. 

Throughout the magazine there is an abundance of information about different types of beers, what kind of food goes well with each, and ways to help you “find a beer you’ll love”.  If you’d rather do your reading online go to www.lcbobeerworld.com and “Tap into the adventure”. 

This material is clearly promotional, and I get the fact that in order to make money you need to market the products you are selling.   But if you keep in mind that the role of the LCBO is liquor control rather than liquor promotion, would it be farfetched to suggest that the LCBO should at least put an equal amount of effort towards controlling as promoting?  On the very back page of the magazine, the LCBO asks everyone to “Please Enjoy Responsibly”.  Is that it?  What does that mean exactly?  I’m sure it means something different to everyone who reads it.

The glossy, high cost promotion of alcohol in the province of Ontario needs to be balanced with investments in “responsible” alcohol control policies.  The Government of Ontario should:

·       reduce the amount of LCBO branded marketing,

·       ensure that substantial, visible space is included in all LCBO print and online promotional materials to help educate the public about what responsible drinking is, e.g. include information on standard drink sizes next to product promotions, regularly incorporate guidelines for low risk drinking and the risk of alcohol and pregnancy,

·       invest in health promotion strategies, programs and services to help reduce the harms related to alcohol use, and

·       support an Alcohol Strategy for the province that coordinates existing and new alcohol control policies including policies on pricing, availability and advertising.

These steps would increase awareness of what “Please enjoy responsibly” really means, and demonstrate to all Ontarians that the Government of Ontario and the LCBO are serious about minimizing alcohol related harms and costs in the province, and are willing to work together to help build a culture where alcohol is only a part of our good times.