Reader Responses

The alcohol industry apparently has identified college presidents as willing partners to initiate a movement to lower the drinking age. Colleges are uneasy playing hosts to an illegal activity that is killing and injuring their students and making the activity legal would give the colleges instant relief.

Most people are unaware how aggressive (and effective) alcohol marketers have been in tapping into the illegal underage market which is estimated to range up to 20 percent of the total.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, for example, has partnered with Anheuser-Busch for years in using the state’s “Budweiser ShareLunker Program,” to attract tens of thousands of young Texans’ attention to this popular beer at the agency’s annual children-oriented Wildlife Expo. I have photos of children being attracted to a “Budweiser ShareLunker Pro-gram” display of large fish with a beer ad reading “You’ve caught a great fish. Now catch a great feeling.” The public brought TPWD’s attention to this problem along with an example of teenagers fishing and drinking at Lake Fork (famous for producing “Budweiser ShareLunkers”), then diving from a highway bridge resulting in the death of one of the teens.

But Anheuser-Busch’s influence at this state agency is simply too great. The “Budweiser ShareLunker” display continues to attract children.

Even our alcohol regulatory agency, TABC, promotes a prevention program called Shattered Dreams, which tells the children “Just don’t drink and drive.” Telling children not to drink and drive sends a message that it’s OK to drink if you don’t drive — never mind that it’s illegal and that there’s a long list of problems ranging from death and injury to bad grades that result from children drinking while not driving.

And even though alcohol kills more children than all the illegal drugs combined, TABC is careful to keep underage alcohol penalties far lighter than those for illegal drugs.

Bottom line — the problem is with the alcohol industry’s influence, not the drinking age.

Jim Haire
Tyler