I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1823

To require health warnings to be included in alcoholic beverage

advertisements, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 22, 1993

Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. MCCURDY, Mr. BEILENSON, Mr. CONYERS,

Mr. SERRANO, Mr. LAFALCE, and Mr. ORTON) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 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 age
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1 21 to purchase alcohol in all 50 of the States and

2 the District of Columbia.

3 (2) According to the 1992 National Institute on

4 Drug Abuse survey of high school students and

5 young adults, 89.5 percent of high school seniors in

6 the class of 1990 had used alcohol at least once and

7 30 percent had experienced a ‘‘binge’’ of 5 or more

8 drinks in a row within the past 2 weeks. Among col9 lege students, 43 percent reported occasions of

10 ‘‘binge’’ drinking, including 35 percent of the fe11 males and 52 percent of the males.

12 (3) The average age at which young people

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

14 percent of boys and 22 percent of girls classify

15 themselves as drinkers. According to the 1988 Na16 tional High School Senior Survey, 17 percent of

17 high school seniors reported having been drunk by

18 eighth grade, 37 percent by ninth grade, 54 percent

19 by tenth grade, and 71 percent by twelfth grade.

20 Studies demonstrate that the use of alcohol by indi21 viduals before the age of 15 appears to be one of the

22 predictors of later heavy alcohol and other drug use

23 by the individuals.

24 (4) Young people are not well informed about

25 the hazards of alcohol use. Only 43 percent of high
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1 school seniors believe there is great risk of harm

2 from drinking activities such as binge drinking once

3 or twice each weekend. More than one quarter of

4 high school seniors do not view heavy, regular daily

5 (‘‘binge’’) drinking as entailing great risk. More

6 than 40 percent of 8th graders, 45 percent of 10th

7 graders, and 51 percent of 12th graders do not per8 ceive having 5 or more drinks once or twice a week9 end as entailing a great risk.

10 (5) According to the Department of Health and

11 Human Services, sponsorships and promotions on

12 college campuses by alcohol producers and the use of

13 celebrities and youth-oriented musical groups in ad14 vertising create a pro-drinking environment.

15 (6) Treatment costs for fetal alcohol syndrome

16 (referred to in this section as ‘‘FAS’’) and other al17 cohol-related birth defects in the United States are

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

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

20 with accompanying mental retardation and the only

21 known preventable cause among the top three.

22 Among children born to women who drink heavily,

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

24 1,000 live births. Among children born to other

25 women, the FAS incidence is between 1 to 3 infants
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1 with the syndrome per 1,000 live births. The inci2 dence of other alcohol-related birth defects is esti3 mated to be 3 times greater than that of FAS.

4 (7) According to the National Institute on Alco5 hol Abuse and Alcoholism, an estimated 18,000,000

6 persons in the United States who are 18 or older

7 currently experience problems as a result of alcohol

8 use. An estimated 4,500,000 young people are de9 pendent on alcohol or are problem drinkers.

10 (8) According to Healthy People 2000, the Na11 tional Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Ob12 jectives—

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

14 motor vehicle crashes are alcohol-related;

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

16 of all fatal intentional injuries such as suicides

17 and homicides; and

18 (C) victims are intoxicated in approxi19 mately one-third of all homicides, drownings,

20 and boating deaths.

21 (9) An estimated 25 percent of all hospitalized

22 persons have alcohol-related problems.

23 (10) Alcohol advertising, especially in the

24 broadcast media, represents the single greatest

25 source of alcohol education for persons in the United
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1 States. According to a 1990 study of 10- to 13-year2 olds, funded by the American Automobile Associa3 tion Foundation for Traffic Safety, there is a rela4 tionship between exposure and attention by an indi5 vidual to beer advertising, and expectations that the

6 individual drink as an adult.

7 (11) A major 1981 federally funded study

8 found a significant relationship between—

9 (A) exposure of individuals to alcoholic

10 beverage advertising as youth; and

11 (B) drinking behaviors and attitudes of the

12 individuals that can lead to certain forms of

13 problem drinking.

14 (12) Over 80 percent of 2,000 adults surveyed

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

16 Firearms by the Opinion Research Corporation be17 lieve that alcohol advertising influences underage

18 youth to drink alcoholic beverages. The survey also

19 found that the general public feels that the young

20 people of the United States constitute the group that

21 is most at risk from drinking alcoholic beverages.

22 (13) The alcoholic beverage industry spends ap23 proximately $2,000,000,000 each year on advertising

24 and promotions in the United States.
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1 (14) The 1988 Surgeon General’s Workshop on

2 Drunk Driving has recommended—

3 (A) that the level of alcoholic beverage ad4 vertising be matched with an equal number of

5 pro-health and pro-safety messages; and

6 (B) the inclusion of health warning mes7 sages in all alcohol advertising.

8 (15) The National Commission on Drug-Free

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

10 Drug-Free Generation: A Nation’s Responsibility’’,

11 recommends that Congress—

12 (A) require additional health and safety

13 messages on all alcohol products and advertis14 ing for the products; and

15 (B) consider enacting a ban on advertising

16 and promotion of alcohol if alcohol advertising

17 still targets youth and glamorizes alcohol use.

18 (16) Over two-thirds of persons surveyed in a

19 1989 Wall Street Journal poll favor requiring

20 warnings about the dangers of drinking both on al21 coholic beverage containers and in alcohol advertise22 ments. Nearly three-fourths of persons surveyed in

23 a 1990 Gallup Poll favor requiring health warning

24 messages in alcohol advertising.
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1 (17) Alcohol in combination with other drugs is

2 the leading cause of emergency room drug abuse epi3 sodes.

4 (18) According to the Inspector General of the

5 Department of Health and Human Services, the av6 erage binge drinker is a 16 year old male in the

7 10th grade who was 12 years old when he took his

8 first drink.

9 (19) A third of all students do not understand

10 the intoxicating effects of alcohol. More than 2.6

11 million do not know a person can die from an over12 dose of alcohol. A projected 259,000 students think

13 that wine coolers or beer cannot get a person drunk,

14 cannot make a person sick, or cannot do as much

15 harm as other alcoholic beverages.

16 (20) In 1989, chronic liver disease, including

17 cirrhosis, was the 9th leading cause of death in the

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

19 disease in the United States, 46 percent diagnosti20 cally were associated with alcohol. Heavy alcohol use

21 is considered the most important risk factor for

22 chronic liver disease. Even among liver disease

23 deaths not coded as alcohol-related, approximately

24 50 percent are thought to be due to alcohol use.
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1 (21) Between 5 and 24 percent of hypertension

2 cases are associated with alcohol. Many cases diag3 nosed as essential hypertension (high blood pressure

4 having no known causes) may actually have chronic

5 alcohol ingestion as their cause.

6 (22) Alcohol abuse is strongly associated with

7 increased risk of certain kinds of cancer, especially

8 cancer of the liver, esophagus, nasopharynx, and lar9 ynx. Alcohol is also associated with dietary defi10 ciency that may increase cancer risk.

11 SEC. 3. HEALTH WARNINGS.

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

13 6-month period following the date of enactment of this

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

15 section 6 of the Federal Trade Commission Act for any

16 person to—

17 (1) advertise or cause to be advertised through

18 magazines, newspapers, brochures, and promotional

19 displays within the United States any alcoholic bev20 erage unless the advertising bears, in accordance

21 with requirements of section 3(a), one of the follow22 ing health warnings:

23 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: If

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

25 during pregnancy may cause mental retardation
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1 and other birth defects. Avoid alcohol during

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

3 drinking, call [insert appropriate toll free num4 ber].

5 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: If

6 you are under the age of 21, it’s against the

7 law to buy alcoholic beverages. For information

8 about teenagers and young adults and drinking,

9 call [insert appropriate toll free number]., or

10 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Al11 cohol is a drug and may be addictive. If you

12 know someone who has an alcohol or other drug

13 problem or has trouble controlling their drink14 ing, call [insert appropriate toll free number].

15 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING:

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

17 driver’s license. Alcohol impairs your ability to

18 drive a car or operate machinery. If you or peo19 ple you love drink and drive, call [insert appro20 priate toll free number].

21 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING:

22 Don’t mix alcohol with over-the-counter, pre23 scription, or illicit drugs. For more information

24 call [insert appropriate toll free number].
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1 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: If

2 you drink too much alcohol too fast, you can

3 die. You can be poisoned by alcohol if you drink

4 [insert number of drinks] in [insert time]. To

5 find out more about alcohol poisoning call [in6 sert appropriate toll free number].

7 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING:

8 Drinking increases your risks of high blood

9 pressure, liver disease, and cancer. The more

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

11 have such health problems. To find out how to

12 prevent getting such health problems call [in13 sert appropriate toll free number]., or

14 (2) advertise or cause to be advertised through

15 radio or television broadcasting (including cable

16 broadcasting and paid per view or subscription tele17 vision) any alcoholic beverage unless the advertising

18 includes, in accordance with requirements of section

19 3(b), one of the following health warnings:

20 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: If

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

22 may cause mental retardation and other birth

23 defects.
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1 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: If

2 you are under the age of 21, it’s illegal to buy

3 alcoholic beverages.

4 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Al5 cohol is a drug and may be addictive.

6 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING:

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

8 driver’s license.

9 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING:

10 Don’t mix alcohol with over-the-counter, pre11 scription, or illicit drugs.

12 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: If

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

14 of alcohol poisoning.

15 SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING:

16 Drinking increases your risk of high blood pres17 sure, liver disease, and cancer.

18 (b) TOLL FREE NUMBERS.— The Secretary of

19 Health and Human Services shall be responsible for estab20 lishing and maintaining the toll free numbers referred to

21 in the health warnings required by subsection (a)(1). The

22 Secretary shall report to Congress annually on the number

23 of calls received using those numbers and the types of re24 ferrals made.
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1 SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS.

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

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

4 shall—

5 (1) be located in a conspicuous and prominent

6 place on each such advertisement, as determined by

7 the Secretary of Health and Human Services in reg8 ulations to take effect no later than 6 months after

9 the date of the enactment of this Act,

10 (2) shall require that all the regulations issued

11 by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall require

12 that all letters in such health warnings appear in

13 conspicuous and legible type that is not script or

14 italic and that such health warnings be in contrast

15 by typography, layout, and color with all other print16 ed material in the advertisement, be surrounded by

17 typographic lines that form a box, and, on an appro18 priate visual medium, appear on the front of an ad19 vertisement as indicated by labeling of the manufac20 turer or importer, and

21 (3) be rotated in an alternating sequence on

22 each advertisement of a brand style in accordance

23 with a plan submitted by such manufacturer or im24 porter to the Secretary.

25 The Secretary shall approve a plan submitted under para26 graph (3) by a manufacturer or importer that assures that
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1 each sequence of the same or substantially similar adver2 tisement for a brand style has displayed upon it an equal

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

4 an application is approved by the Secretary, the rotation

5 shall apply with respect to the applicant during the one6 year period beginning on the date of the application ap7 proval.

8 (b) RADIO AND TELEVISION.—

9 (1) WARNINGS.—The health warnings required

10 for alcoholic beverage advertisements placed on radio

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

12 (A) be included in a conspicuous and

13 prominent manner in such advertisement, as

14 determined by the Secretary of Health and

15 Human Services in regulations to take effect

16 not later than 6 months after the date of the

17 enactment of this Act, and

18 (B) be rotated in an alternating sequence

19 on each such advertisement of a brand style in

20 accordance with a plan submitted by such man21 ufacturer or importer to the Secretary.

22 The Secretary shall approve a plan submitted under

23 subparagraph (B) by a manufacturer or importer

24 that assures that an equal distribution of each of the

25 health warnings is displayed on each sequence of the
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1 same or substantially similar advertisement for a

2 brand style at the same time. If an application is ap3 proved by the Secretary, the rotation shall apply

4 with respect to the applicant during the one-year pe5 riod beginning on the date of the application ap6 proval.

7 (2) REGULATIONS.—The regulations issued by

8 the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall require—

9 (A) that such health warnings be read as

10 part of an alcoholic beverage advertisement in

11 an audible and deliberate manner and in a

12 length of time that allows for a clear under13 standing of the health warning message by the

14 intended audience, and

15 (B) that for television a graphic represen16 tation of such health warning be included after

17 each advertisement, that all letters in such

18 health warning appear in conspicuous and leg19 ible type that is not script or italic, that such

20 health warning be surrounded by typographic

21 lines that form a box, and that such health

22 warning appear in the same length of time si23 multaneously with the reading of the message

24 required by subparagraph (A).
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1 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

2 As used in this Act—

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

4 beverage in liquid form which contains not less than

5 one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume and is

6 intended for human consumption,

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

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

9 agency, and

10 (3) the term ‘‘State’’ includes—

11 (A) any political subdivision of a State,

12 (B) the District of Columbia,

13 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,

14 (D) the Commonwealth of the Northern

15 Mariana Islands,

16 (E) Guam,

17 (F) the Virgin Islands,

18 (G) American Samoa,

19 (H) Wake Island,

20 (I) the Midway Islands,

21 (J) Kingman Reef, and

22 (K) Johnston Island.

23 SEC. 6. REPORT TO CONGRESS.

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

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

26 Health and Human Services shall conduct an appropriate
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1 investigation and consult with the Surgeon General to de2 termine whether available scientific information would jus3 tify a change in, an addition to, or deletion of, a health

4 warning set forth in section 3.

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

6 Services finds that available scientific information would

7 justify the change, addition, or deletion described in sub8 section (a), the Secretary shall promptly submit a report

9 to the appropriate committees of Congress containing—

10 (1) the information; and

11 (2) specific recommendations for such amend12 ments to this Act as the Secretary determines to be

13 appropriate and in the public interest.

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