I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3474

To require health warnings to be included in alcoholic beverage

advertisements, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 16, 1996

Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts (for himself, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr.

FALEOMAVAEGA, and Mr. FATTAH) introduced the following bill; which

was referred to the Committee on Commerce

A BILL

To require health warnings to be included in alcoholic

beverage advertisements, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sensible Advertising

5 and Family Education Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress makes the following findings:

8 (1) Alcohol is by far the drug most widely used

9 and abused by young people in the United States

10 today, even though it is illegal for youths under the
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1 age of 21 to purchase alcohol in all 50 of the States

2 and the District of Columbia.

3 (2) According to the National Institute on Alco4 hol Abuse and Alcoholism, an estimated 18,000,000

5 persons in the United States who are 18 or older

6 currently experience problems as a result of alcohol

7 use. An estimated 4,500,000 young people are de8 pendent on alcohol or are problem drinkers.

9 (3) According to the 1995 National Institute on

10 Drug Abuse survey of high school students and

11 young adults (entitled ‘‘Monitoring the Future’’), 80

12 percent of high school seniors, 71 percent of tenth

13 graders, and 56 percent of eighth graders had used

14 alcohol at least once. Twenty-eight percent of high

15 school seniors, 24 percent of tenth graders, and 15

16 percent of eighth graders had experienced a ‘‘binge’’

17 of 5 or more drinks in a row within the past 2

18 weeks. Among college students, 88 percent reported

19 having used alcohol and 40 percent reported occa20 sions of binge drinking, including 31 percent of the

21 females and 52 percent of the males.

22 (4) The average age at which young people

23 begin drinking is 13. By age 13, approximately 30

24 percent of boys and 22 percent of girls classify

25 themselves as drinkers. According to the 1995
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1 ‘‘Monitoring the Future’’ survey, 14 percent of high

2 school seniors reported having been drunk by eighth

3 grade, 30 percent by ninth grade, 43 percent by

4 tenth grade, and 60 percent by twelfth grade. Stud5 ies demonstrate that the use of alcohol before the

6 age of 15 appears to be one of the predictors of later

7 heavy alcohol and other drug use.

8 (5) According to a national survey on youth and

9 alcohol (Inspector General of the Department of

10 Health and Human Services, 1991), the average

11 binge drinker is a 16 year-old male in the tenth

12 grade who was 12 years old when he took his first

13 drink.

14 (6) Young people are not well informed about

15 the hazards of alcohol use. More than one quarter

16 of high school seniors do not view taking one or two

17 drinks nearly every day as entailing great risk. Ap18 proximately 45 percent of eighth graders, 47 percent

19 of tenth graders, and 53 percent of twelfth graders

20 do not perceive having 5 or more drinks once or

21 twice a weekend as entailing a great risk (1995

22 ‘‘Monitoring the Future’’ survey). More than 2.6

23 million students do not know a person can die from

24 an overdose of alcohol. A projected 259,000 students

25 think that wine coolers or beer cannot get a person
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1 drunk, make a person sick, or do as much harm as

2 other alcoholic beverages (Inspector General of the

3 Department of Health and Human Services, 1991).

4 (7) According to Healthy People 2000, the Na5 tional Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Ob6 jectives—

7 (A) nearly one-half of all deaths from

8 motor vehicle crashes are alcohol-related;

9 (B) alcohol is implicated in nearly one-half

10 of all fatal intentional injuries such as suicides

11 and homicides; and

12 (C) victims are intoxicated in approxi13 mately one-third of all homicides, drownings,

14 and boating deaths.

15 (8) An estimated 25 percent of all hospitalized

16 persons have alcohol-related problems.

17 (9) Alcohol in combination with other drugs is

18 the leading cause of emergency room drug abuse epi19 sodes.

20 (10) In 1995, chronic liver disease, including

21 cirrhosis, was the 11th leading cause of death in the

22 United States. Of 41,000 deaths attributed to liver

23 disease in the United States, 46 percent diagnosti24 cally were associated with alcohol. Heavy alcohol use

25 is considered the most important risk factor for
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1 chronic liver disease. Even among liver disease

2 deaths not coded as alcohol-related, approximately

3 50 percent are thought to be due to alcohol use.

4 (11) Between 5 and 24 percent of hypertension

5 cases are associated with alcohol. Many cases diag6 nosed as essential hypertension (high blood pressure

7 having no known causes) may actually have chronic

8 alcohol ingestion as their cause.

9 (12) Alcohol abuse is strongly associated with

10 increased risk of cancer, especially cancer of the

11 liver, esophagus, nasopharynx, and larynx. Alcohol is

12 also associated with dietary deficiency that may in13 crease cancer risk.

14 (13) Treatment costs for fetal alcohol syndrome

15 (referred to in this paragraph as ‘‘FAS’’) and other

16 alcohol-related birth defects in the United States are

17 estimated at nearly a third of a billion dollars. FAS

18 is one of the top 3 known causes of birth defects

19 with accompanying mental retardation and the only

20 known preventable cause among the top three.

21 Among children born to women who drink heavily,

22 the incidence of FAS may be as high as 25 per

23 1,000 live births. Among children born to other

24 women, the FAS incidence is between 1 to 3 infants

25 with the syndrome per 1,000 live births. The inci-
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1 dence of other alcohol-related birth defects is esti2 mated to be 3 times greater than that of FAS.

3 (14) The alcoholic-beverage industry spends ap4 proximately $2,000,000,000 each year on advertising

5 and promotions in the United States.

6 (15) Alcohol advertising, especially in the

7 broadcast media, represents the single greatest

8 source of alcohol education for persons in the United

9 States. According to a 1990 study of 10 to 13 year10 olds, funded by the American Automobile Associa11 tion Foundation for Traffic Safety, there is a rela12 tionship between exposure and attention by an indi13 vidual to beer advertising and expectations that the

14 individual drink as an adult.

15 (16) A major 1981 federally funded study

16 found a significant relationship between—

17 (A) exposure of individuals to alcoholic18 beverage advertising as youth; and

19 (B) drinking behaviors and attitudes of the

20 individuals that can lead to certain forms of

21 problem drinking.

22 (17) According to the Department of Health

23 and Human Services, sponsorships and promotions

24 on college campuses by alcohol producers and the
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1 use of celebrities and youth-oriented musical groups

2 in advertising create a pro-drinking environment.

3 (18) Over 80 percent of 2,000 adults surveyed

4 in 1988 for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and

5 Firearms by the Opinion Research Corporation be6 lieve that alcohol advertising influences underage

7 youth to drink alcoholic beverages. The survey also

8 found that the general public feels that the young

9 people of the United States constitute the group that

10 is most at risk from drinking alcoholic beverages.

11 (19) The 1988 Surgeon General’s Workshop on

12 Drunk Driving has recommended—

13 (A) that the level of alcoholic-beverage ad14 vertising be matched with an equal number of

15 pro-health and pro-safety messages; and

16 (B) the inclusion of health warning mes17 sages in all alcohol advertising.

18 (20) The National Commission on Drug-Free

19 Schools’ September 1990 Final Report, ‘‘Toward a

20 Drug-Free Generation: A Nation’s Responsibility’’

21 recommends that Congress—

22 (A) require additional health and safety

23 messages on all alcohol products and advertis24 ing for the products; and
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1 (B) consider enacting a ban on advertising

2 and promotion of alcohol if alcohol advertising

3 still targets youth and glamorizes alcohol use

4 two years following the publication of the re5 port.

6 (21) Over two-thirds of persons surveyed

7 in a 1989 Wall Street Journal poll favor requir8 ing warnings about the dangers of drinking

9 both on alcoholic-beverage containers and in al10 cohol advertisements. Nearly three-fourths of

11 persons surveyed in a 1990 Gallup Poll favor

12 requiring health warning messages in alcohol

13 advertising.

14 SEC. 3. HEALTH WARNINGS.

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—On and after the expiration of the

16 6-month period following the date of enactment of this

17 Act, it shall be an unfair or deceptive act or practice under

18 section 6 of the Federal Trade Commission Act for any

19 person to—

20 (1) advertise or cause to be advertised through

21 magazines, newspapers, brochures, and promotional

22 displays within the United States any alcoholic bev23 erage unless the advertising bears, in accordance

24 with requirements of section 3(a), one of the follow25 ing health warnings:
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1 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: If

2 you are pregnant, don’t drink. Drinking alcohol

3 during pregnancy may cause mental retardation

4 and other birth defects. Avoid alcohol during

5 pregnancy. If you are pregnant and can’t stop

6 drinking, call [insert appropriate toll free num7 ber].

8 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Al9 cohol is a drug and may be addictive. If you

10 know someone who has an alcohol or other drug

11 problem or has trouble controlling their drink12 ing, call [insert appropriate toll free number].

13 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING:

14 Drive sober. If you don’t, you could lose your

15 driver’s license or even your life. Alcohol im16 pairs your ability to drive a car or operate ma17 chinery. If you or people you love drink and

18 drive, call [insert appropriate toll free number].

19 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING:

20 Don’t mix alcohol with over-the-counter, pre21 scription, or illicit drugs. For more information

22 call [insert appropriate toll free number].

23 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: If

24 you drink too much alcohol too fast, you can

25 die. You can be poisoned by alcohol if you drink
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1 [insert number of drinks] in [insert time]. To

2 find out more about alcohol poisoning call [in3 sert appropriate toll free number].

4 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING:

5 Drinking increases your risks of high blood

6 pressure, liver disease, and cancer. The more

7 you drink, the more likely it is that you will

8 have such health problems. To find out how to

9 prevent getting such health problems call [in10 sert appropriate toll free number]., or

11 (2) advertise or cause to be advertised through

12 radio, television broadcasting (including cable broad13 casting and paid per view or subscription television),

14 or other electronic means any alcoholic beverage un15 less the advertising includes, in accordance with re16 quirements of section 3(b), one of the following

17 health warnings:

18 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: If

19 you are pregnant, don’t drink alcohol. Alcohol

20 may cause mental retardation and other birth

21 defects.

22 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Al23 cohol is a drug and may be addictive.
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1 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING:

2 Drive sober. If you don’t, you could lose your

3 driver’s license or even your life.

4 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING:

5 Don’t mix alcohol with over-the-counter, pre6 scription, or illicit drugs.

7 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: If

8 you drink too much alcohol too fast, you can die

9 of alcohol poisoning.

10 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING:

11 Drinking too much alcohol increases your risk

12 of high blood pressure, liver disease, and can13 cer.

14 (b) TOLL FREE NUMBERS.—The Secretary of Health

15 and Human Services shall be responsible for establishing

16 and maintaining the toll free numbers referred to in the

17 health warnings required by subsection (a)(1). The Sec18 retary shall report to Congress annually on the number

19 of calls received using those numbers.

20 SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—The health warnings required for

22 alcoholic beverage advertisements by section 3(a)(1)

23 shall—

24 (1) be located in a conspicuous and prominent

25 place on each such advertisement, as determined by
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1 the Secretary of Health and Human Services in reg2 ulations to take effect no later than 6 months after

3 the date of the enactment of this Act,

4 (2) shall require that all the regulations issued

5 by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall require

6 that all letters in such health warnings appear in

7 conspicuous and legible type that is not script or

8 italic and that such health warnings be in contrast

9 by typography, layout, and color with all other print10 ed material in the advertisement, be surrounded by

11 typographic lines that form a box, and, on an appro12 priate visual medium, appear on the front of an ad13 vertisement as indicated by labeling of the manufac14 turer or importer, and

15 (3) be rotated in an alternating sequence on

16 each advertisement of a brand style in accordance

17 with a plan submitted by such manufacturer or im18 porter to the Secretary.

19 The Secretary shall approve a plan submitted under para20 graph (3) by a manufacturer or importer that assures that

21 each sequence of the same or substantially similar adver22 tisement for a brand style has displayed upon it an equal

23 distribution of each health warning at the same time. If

24 an application is approved by the Secretary, the rotation

25 shall apply with respect to the applicant during the one-
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1 year period beginning on the date of the application ap2 proval.

3 (b) RADIO AND TELEVISION.—

4 (1) WARNINGS.—The health warnings required

5 for alcoholic beverage advertisements placed on radio

6 or television broadcasting by section 2(a)(2) shall—

7 (A) be included in a conspicuous and

8 prominent manner in such advertisement, as

9 determined by the Secretary of Health and

10 Human Services in regulations to take effect

11 not later than 6 months after the date of the

12 enactment of this Act, and

13 (B) be rotated in an alternating sequence

14 on each such advertisement of a brand style in

15 accordance with a plan submitted by such man16 ufacturer or importer to the Secretary.

17 The Secretary shall approve a plan submitted under

18 subparagraph (B) by a manufacturer or importer

19 that assures that an equal distribution of each of the

20 health warnings is displayed on each sequence of the

21 same or substantially similar advertisement for a

22 brand style at the same time. If an application is ap23 proved by the Secretary, the rotation shall apply

24 with respect to the applicant during the one-year pe-
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1 riod beginning on the date of the application ap2 proval.

3 (2) REGULATIONS.—The regulations issued by

4 the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall require—

5 (A) that such health warnings be read as

6 part of an alcoholic beverage advertisement in

7 an audible and deliberate manner and in a

8 length of time that allows for a clear under9 standing of the health warning message by the

10 intended audience, and

11 (B) that for television a graphic represen12 tation of such health warning be included after

13 each advertisement, that all letters in such

14 health warning appear in conspicuous and leg15 ible type that is not script or italic, that such

16 health warning be surrounded by typographic

17 lines that form a box, and that such health

18 warning appear in the same length of time si19 multaneously with the reading of the message

20 required by subparagraph (A).

21 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

22 As used in this Act—

23 (1) the term ‘‘alcoholic beverage’’ includes any

24 beverage in liquid form which contains not less than
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1 one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume and is

2 intended for human consumption,

3 (2) the term ‘‘person’’ includes a State, a State

4 agency, or an officer or employee of a State or State

5 agency, and

6 (3) the term ‘‘State’’ includes—

7 (A) any political subdivision of a State,

8 (B) the District of Columbia,

9 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,

10 (D) the Commonwealth of the Northern

11 Mariana Islands,

12 (E) Guam,

13 (F) the Virgin Islands,

14 (G) American Samoa,

15 (H) Wake Island,

16 (I) the Midway Islands,

17 (J) Kingman Reef, and

18 (K) Johnston Island.

19 SEC. 6. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

20 (a) INVESTIGATION.—Not earlier than 2 years after

21 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of

22 Health and Human Services shall conduct an appropriate

23 investigation and consult with the Surgeon General to de24 termine whether available scientific information would jus-
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1 tify a change in, an addition to, or deletion of, a health

2 warning set forth in section 3.

3 (b) REPORT.—If the Secretary of Health and Human

4 Services finds that available scientific information would

5 justify the change, addition, or deletion described in sub6 section (a), the Secretary shall promptly submit a report

7 to the appropriate committees of Congress containing—

8 (1) the information; and

9 (2) specific recommendations for such amend10 ments to this Act as the Secretary determines to be

11 appropriate and in the public interest.

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