I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1979
To require health warnings to be included in alcoholic beverage
advertisements, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 19, 1997
Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts 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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Sensible Advertising
and Family Education Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Alcohol is by far the drug most widely used
and abused by young people in the United States
today, even though it is illegal for youths under the
age of 21 to purchase alcohol in all 50 of the States
and the District of Columbia.
(2) According to the National Institute on Alco-
hol Abuse and Alcoholism, an estimated 18,000,000
persons in the United States who are 18 or older
currently experience problems as a result of alcohol
use. An estimated 4,500,000 young people are de-
pendent on alcohol or are problem drinkers.
(3) According to the 1996 National Institute on
Drug Abuse survey of high school students and
young adults (entitled ‘‘Monitoring the Future’’), 79
percent of high school seniors, 72 percent of tenth
graders, and 55 percent of eighth graders had used
alcohol at least once. Thirty percent of high school
seniors, 25 percent of tenth graders, and 16 percent
of eighth graders had experienced a ‘‘binge’’ of 5 or
more drinks in a row within the past 2 weeks.
Among college students, 88 percent reported having
used alcohol and 40 percent reported occasions of
binge drinking, including 31 percent of the females
and 52 percent of the males.
(4) The average age at which young people
begin drinking is 13. By age 13, approximately 30
percent of boys and 22 percent of girls classify
themselves as drinkers. According to the 1996
‘‘Monitoring the Future’’ survey, 27 percent re-
ported having been drunk by eighth grade, 49 per-
cent by tenth grade, and 62 percent by twelfth
grade. Studies demonstrate that the use of alcohol
before the age of 15 appears to be one of the predic-
tors of later heavy alcohol and other drug use.
(5) According to a national survey on youth and
alcohol (Inspector General of the Department of
Health and Human Services, 1991), the average
binge drinker is a 16-year-old male in the tenth
grade who was 12 years old when he took his first
drink.
(6) Young people are not well informed about
the hazards of alcohol use. More than one quarter
of high school seniors do not view taking one or two
drinks nearly every day as entailing great risk. Ap-
proximately 45 percent of eighth graders, 47 percent
of tenth graders, and 53 percent of twelfth graders
do not perceive having 5 or more drinks once or
twice a weekend as entailing a great risk (1995
‘‘Monitoring the Future’’ survey). More than 2.6
million students do not know a person can die from
an overdose of alcohol. A projected 259,000 students
think that wine coolers or beer cannot get a person
drunk, make a person sick, or do as much harm as
other alcoholic beverages (Inspector General of the
Department of Health and Human Services, 1991).
(7) According to Healthy People 2000, the Na-
tional Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Ob-
jectives—
(A) nearly one-half of all deaths from
motor vehicle crashes are alcohol-related;
(B) alcohol is implicated in nearly one-half
of all fatal intentional injuries such as suicides
and homicides; and
(C) victims are intoxicated in approxi-
mately one-third of all homicides, drownings,
and boating deaths.
(8) An estimated 25 percent of all hospitalized
persons have alcohol-related problems.
(9) Alcohol in combination with other drugs is
the leading cause of emergency room drug abuse epi-
sodes.
(10) In 1995, chronic liver disease, including
cirrhosis, was the 11th leading cause of death in the
United States. Of 41,000 deaths attributed to liver
disease in the United States, 46 percent diagnosti-
cally were associated with alcohol. Heavy alcohol use
is considered the most important risk factor for
chronic liver disease. Even among liver disease
deaths not coded as alcohol-related, approximately
50 percent are thought to be due to alcohol use.
(11) Between 5 and 24 percent of hypertension
cases are associated with alcohol. Many cases diag-
nosed as essential hypertension (high blood pressure
having no known causes) may actually have chronic
alcohol ingestion as their cause.
(12) Alcohol abuse is strongly associated with
increased risk of cancer, especially cancer of the
liver, esophagus, nasopharynx, and larynx. Alcohol is
also associated with dietary deficiency that may in-
crease cancer risk.
(13) Treatment costs for fetal alcohol syndrome
(referred to in this paragraph as ‘‘FAS’’) and other
alcohol-related birth defects in the United States are
estimated at nearly a third of a billion dollars. FAS
is one of the top 3 known causes of birth defects
with accompanying mental retardation and the only
known preventable cause among the top three.
Among children born to women who drink heavily,
the incidence of FAS may be as high as 25 per
1,000 live births. Among children born to other
women, the FAS incidence is between 1 to 3 infants
with the syndrome per 1,000 live births. The inci-
dence of other alcohol-related birth defects is esti-
mated to be 3 times greater than that of FAS.
(14) The alcoholic-beverage industry spends ap-
proximately $2,000,000,000 each year on advertising
and promotions in the United States.
(15) Alcohol advertising, especially in the
broadcast media, represents the single greatest
source of alcohol education for persons in the United
States. According to a 1990 study of 10- to 13-year-
olds, funded by the American Automobile Associa-
tion Foundation for Traffic Safety, there is a rela-
tionship between exposure and attention by an indi-
vidual to beer advertising and expectations that the
individual drink as an adult.
(16) A major 1981 federally funded study
found a significant relationship between—
(A) exposure of individuals to alcoholic-
beverage advertising as youth; and
(B) drinking behaviors and attitudes of the
individuals that can lead to certain forms of
problem drinking.
(17) According to the Department of Health
and Human Services, sponsorships and promotions
on college campuses by alcohol producers and the
use of celebrities and youth-oriented musical groups
in advertising create a pro-drinking environment.
(18) Over 80 percent of 2,000 adults surveyed
in 1988 for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and
Firearms by the Opinion Research Corporation be-
lieve that alcohol advertising influences underage
youth to drink alcoholic beverages. The survey also
found that the general public feels that the young
people of the United States constitute the group that
is most at risk from drinking alcoholic beverages.
(19) The 1988 Surgeon General’s Workshop on
Drunk Driving has recommended—
(A) that the level of alcoholic-beverage ad-
vertising be matched with an equal number of
pro-health and pro-safety messages; and
(B) the inclusion of health warning mes-
sages in all alcohol advertising.
(20) The National Commission on Drug-Free
Schools’ September 1990 Final Report, ‘‘Toward a
Drug-Free Generation: A Nation’s Responsibility’’
recommends that Congress—
(A) require additional health and safety
messages on all alcohol products and advertis-
ing for the products; and
(B) consider enacting a ban on advertising
and promotion of alcohol if alcohol advertising
still targets youth and glamorizes alcohol use
two years following the publication of the re-
port.
(21) Over two-thirds of persons surveyed
in a 1989 Wall Street Journal poll favor requir-
ing warnings about the dangers of drinking
both on alcoholic-beverage containers and in al-
cohol advertisements. Nearly three-fourths of
persons surveyed in a 1990 Gallup Poll favor
requiring health warning messages in alcohol
advertising.
SEC. 3. HEALTH WARNINGS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—On and after the expiration of the
6-month period following the date of enactment of this
Act, it shall be an unfair or deceptive act or practice under
section 6 of the Federal Trade Commission Act for any
person to—
(1) advertise or cause to be advertised through
magazines, newspapers, brochures, and promotional
displays within the United States any alcoholic bev-
erage unless the advertising bears, in accordance
with requirements of section 3(a), one of the follow-
ing health warnings:
SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: If you
are pregnant, don’t drink. Drinking alcohol
during pregnancy may cause mental retardation
and other birth defects. If you are pregnant and
can’t stop drinking, call (insert appropriate toll
free number).
SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Alcohol
is a drug and may be addictive. If you know
someone who has an alcohol or other drug prob-
lem or has trouble controlling their drinking,
call (insert appropriate toll free number).
SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Drive
sober. If you don’t, you could lose your driver’s
license or even your life. Alcohol impairs your
ability to drive a car or operate machinery. If
you or people you love drink and drive, call (in-
sert appropriate toll free number).
SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Don’t
mix alcohol with over-the-counter, prescription,
or illicit drugs. For more information call (in-
sert appropriate toll free number).
SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: If you
drink too much alcohol too fast, you can die
from alcohol poisoning. To find out more about
alcohol poisoning call (insert appropriate toll
free number).
SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Drink-
ing increases your risks of high blood pressure,
liver disease, and cancer. The more you drink,
the more likely it is that you will have such
health problems. To find out how to prevent
getting such health problems call (insert appro-
priate toll free number)., or
(2) advertise or cause to be advertised through
radio, television broadcasting (including cable broad-
casting and paid per view or subscription television),
or other electronic means any alcoholic beverage un-
less the advertising includes, in accordance with re-
quirements of section 3(b), one of the following
health warnings:
SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: If you
are pregnant, don’t drink alcohol. Alcohol may
cause mental retardation and other birth de-
fects.
SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Alcohol
is a drug and may be addictive.
SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Drive
sober. If you don’t, you could lose your driver’s
license or even your life.
SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Don’t
mix alcohol with over-the-counter, prescription,
or illicit drugs.
SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: If you
drink too much alcohol too fast, you can die of
alcohol poisoning.
SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING: Drink-
ing too much alcohol increases your risk of high
blood pressure, liver disease, and cancer.
(b) TOLL FREE NUMBERS.—The Secretary of Health
and Human Services shall be responsible for establishing
and maintaining the toll free numbers referred to in the
health warnings required by subsection (a)(1). The Sec-
retary shall report to Congress annually on the number
of calls received using those numbers.
SEC. 4. REQUIREMENTS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The health warnings required for
alcoholic beverage advertisements by section 3(a)(1)
shall—
(1) be located in a conspicuous and prominent
place on each such advertisement, as determined by
the Secretary of Health and Human Services in reg-
ulations to take effect no later than 6 months after
the date of the enactment of this Act,
(2) shall require that all the regulations issued
by the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall require
that all letters in such health warnings appear in
conspicuous and legible type that is not script or
italic and that such health warnings be in contrast
by typography, layout, and color with all other print-
ed material in the advertisement, be surrounded by
typographic lines that form a box, and, on an appro-
priate visual medium, appear on the front of an ad-
vertisement as indicated by labeling of the manufac-
turer or importer, and
(3) be rotated in an alternating sequence on
each advertisement of a brand style in accordance
with a plan submitted by such manufacturer or im-
porter to the Secretary.
The Secretary shall approve a plan submitted under para-
graph (3) by a manufacturer or importer that assures that
each sequence of the same or substantially similar adver-
tisement for a brand style has displayed upon it an equal
distribution of each health warning at the same time. If
an application is approved by the Secretary, the rotation
shall apply with respect to the applicant during the one-
year period beginning on the date of the application ap-
proval.
(b) RADIO AND TELEVISION.—
(1) WARNINGS.—The health warnings required
for alcoholic beverage advertisements placed on radio
or television broadcasting by section 2(a)(2) shall—
(A) be included in a conspicuous and
prominent manner in such advertisement, as
determined by the Secretary of Health and
Human Services in regulations to take effect
not later than 6 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and
(B) be rotated in an alternating sequence
on each such advertisement of a brand style in
accordance with a plan submitted by such man-
ufacturer or importer to the Secretary.
The Secretary shall approve a plan submitted under
subparagraph (B) by a manufacturer or importer
that assures that an equal distribution of each of the
health warnings is displayed on each sequence of the
same or substantially similar advertisement for a
brand style at the same time. If an application is ap-
proved by the Secretary, the rotation shall apply
with respect to the applicant during the one-year pe-
riod beginning on the date of the application ap-
proval.
(2) REGULATIONS.—The regulations issued by
the Secretary under paragraph (1) shall require—
(3) the term ‘‘State’’ includes—
(A) any political subdivision of a State,
(B) the District of Columbia,
(C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,
(D) the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands,
(E) Guam,
(F) the Virgin Islands,
(G) American Samoa,
(H) Wake Island,
(I) the Midway Islands,
(J) Kingman Reef, and
(K) Johnston Island.
SEC. 6. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
(a) INVESTIGATION.—Not earlier than 2 years after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Health and Human Services shall conduct an appropriate
investigation and consult with the Surgeon General to de-
termine whether available scientific information would jus-
tify a change in, an addition to, or deletion of, a health
warning set forth in section 3.
(b) REPORT.—If the Secretary of Health and Human
Services finds that available scientific information would
justify the change, addition, or deletion described in sub-
section (a), the Secretary shall promptly submit a report
to the appropriate committees of Congress containing—
(1) the information; and
(2) specific recommendations for such amend-
ments to this Act as the Secretary determines to be
appropriate and in the public interest.
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