Declares it to be an unfair or deceptive act or practice under the Federal Trade Commission Act to advertise or cause to be advertised through magazines, newspapers, brochures, promotional displays, radio or television broadcasting (including cable broadcasting) any alcoholic beverage unless the advertising includes one of specified warnings.
Makes the Secretary of Health and Human Services responsible for establishing and maintaining toll free numbers referred to in some of the warnings.
Sets forth requirements for the warnings, including rotating between the warnings.
HR 1443 IH 102d CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1443 To require health warnings to be included in alcoholic beverage advertisements, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 14, 1991 Mr. KENNEDY (for himself, Mr. KASICH, Mrs. MORELLA, Mr. MAVROULES, Mr. MCCURDY, Ms. OAKAR, Mr. OWENS of Utah, Mr. MILLER of California, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. ORTON, Mr. DELUGO, Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts, Mr. BEREUTER, Mr. LEHMAN of Florida, and Mr. JONES of Georgia) 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. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. 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 age 21 to purchase alcohol in all 50 of the States and the District of Columbia. (2) Ninety percent of high school seniors report using alcohol at least once in the preceding year. The 1989 National Institute on Drug Abuse/University of Michigan survey of high school seniors found that 33 percent of the seniors surveyed reported having consumed 5 or more drinks at one time in the 2 weeks preceding the survey. (3) 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 1988 National High School Senior Survey, 17 percent of high school seniors reported having been drunk by eighth grade, 37 percent by ninth grade, 54 percent by tenth grade, and 71 percent by twelfth grade. Studies demonstrate that the use of alcohol by individuals before the age of 15 appears to be one of the predictors of later heavy alcohol and other drug use by the individuals. (4) Young people are not well informed about the hazards of alcohol use. Only 43 percent of high school seniors believe there is great risk of harm from drinking activities such as binge drinking once or twice each weekend. (5) 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. (6) Alcohol use during pregnancy is the leading preventable cause of birth defects. (7) According to the National Institute on Alcohol 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 dependent on alcohol or are problem drinkers. (8) According to Healthy People 2000, the National Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Objectives-- (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 approximately one-third of all homicides, drownings, and boating deaths. (9) An estimated 25 percent of all hospitalized persons have alcohol-related problems. (10) 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 Association Foundation for Traffic Safety, there is a relationship between exposure and attention by an individual to beer advertising, and expectations that the individual drink as an adult. (11) 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. (12) Over 80 percent of 2,000 adults surveyed in 1988 for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms by the Opinion Research Corporation believe 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. (13) The alcoholic beverage industry spends approximately $2,000,000,000 each year on advertising and promotions in the United States. (14) The 1988 Surgeon General's Workshop on Drunk Driving has recommended-- (A) that the level of alcoholic beverage advertising be matched with an equal number of pro-health and pro-safety messages; and (B) the inclusion of health warning messages in all alcohol advertising. (15) 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 advertising 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. (16) Over two-thirds of persons surveyed in a 1989 Wall Street Journal poll favor requiring warnings about the dangers of drinking both on alcoholic beverage containers and in alcohol advertisements. Nearly three-fourths of persons surveyed in a 1990 Gallup Poll favor requiring health warning messages in alcohol advertising. SEC. 2. 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 5 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 beverage unless the advertising bears, in accordance with requirements of section 3(a), one of the following health warnings: SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Drinking during pregnancy may cause mental retardation and other birth defects. Avoid alcohol during pregnancy. If you are pregnant and can't stop drinking, call [insert appropriate toll free number]. WARNING: Alcohol impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery. If you or people you love drink and drive, call [insert appropriate toll free number]. WARNING: Alcohol may be hazardous if you are using any other drugs such as over-the-counter, prescription, or illicit drugs. To find out what happens when you drink while using other drugs, call [insert appropriate toll free number]. WARNING: Drinking alcohol may become addictive. If you know someone who has an alcohol or other drug problem or has trouble controlling their drinking, call [insert appropriate toll free number]. WARNING: It's against the law to purchase alcohol for persons under age 21. For more information about the risks associated with alcohol use among teenagers and young adults, call [insert appropriate toll free number]., or (2) advertise or cause to be advertised through radio or television broadcasting (including cable broadcasting) any alcoholic beverage unless the advertising includes, in accordance with requirements of section 3(b), one of the following health warnings: SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: Drinking during pregnancy may cause mental retardation and other birth defects. Avoid alcohol during pregnancy. WARNING: Alcohol impairs your ability to drive a car or operate machinery. WARNING: Alcohol may be hazardous if you are using any other drugs such as over-the-counter, prescription, or illicit drugs. WARNING: Drinking alcohol may become addictive. WARNING: It's against the law to purchase alcohol for persons under age 21. (b) TOLL FREE NUMBERS- The Secretary of Health and Human Services, in consultation with the Federal Trade Commission, shall be responsible for establishing and maintaining the toll free numbers referred to in the health warnings required by subsection (a)(1). The Federal Trade Commission shall report to Congress annually on the number of calls received using those numbers and the types of referrals made. SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS. (a) IN GENERAL- The health warnings required for alcoholic beverage advertisements by section 2(a)(1) shall-- (1) be located in a conspicuous and prominent place on each such advertisement, as determined by the Federal Trade Commission in regulations to take effect no later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, except that such regulations 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 printed material in the advertisement, be surrounded by typographic lines that form a box, and, on an appropriate visual medium, appear on the front of an advertisement as indicated by labeling of the manufacturer or importer, and (2) be rotated in an alternating sequence on each advertisement of a brand style in accordance with a plan submitted by such manufacturer or importer to the Federal Trade Commission. The Federal Trade Commission shall approve a plan submitted under paragraph (2) by a manufacturer or importer that assures that each sequence of the same or substantially similar advertisement 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 Federal Trade Commission, the rotation shall apply with respect to the applicant during the one-year period beginning on the date of the application approval. (b) RADIO AND TELEVISION- The health warnings required for alcoholic beverage advertisements placed on radio or television broadcasting by section 2(a)(2) shall-- (1) be included in a conspicuous and prominent manner in such advertisement, as determined by the Federal Trade Commission in regulations to take effect not later than 6 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, except that such regulations shall require-- (A) that such health warnings be read as part of an alcoholic beverage advertisement in an audible and deliberate manner and in a length of time that allows for a clear understanding of the health warning message by the intended audience, and (B) that for television a graphic representation of such health warning required by section 3 be included after each advertisement, that all letters in such health warning appear in conspicuous and legible type that is not script or italic, that such health warning be surrounded by typographic lines that form a box, and that such health warning appear in the same length of time as is required for the reading of the message required by subparagraph (A), and (2) rotated in an alternating sequence on each such advertisement of a brand style in accordance with a plan submitted by such manufacturer or importer to the Federal Trade Commission. The Federal Trade Commission shall approve a plan submitted under paragraph (2) 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 approved by the Federal Trade Commission, the rotation shall apply with respect to the applicant during the one-year period beginning on the date of the application approval. SEC. 4. DEFINITION. For purposes of this Act, the term `alcoholic beverage' includes any beverage in liquid form which contains not less than one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume and is intended for human consumption. SEC. 5. REPORT TO CONGRESS. (a) INVESTIGATION- Not earlier than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Commissioner shall conduct an appropriate investigation and consult with the Surgeon General to determine whether available scientific information would justify a change in, an addition to, or deletion of, a health warning set forth in section 2. (b) REPORT- If the Commissioner finds that available scientific information would justify the change, addition, or deletion described in subsection (a), the Commissioner shall promptly submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress containing-- (1) the information; and (2) specific recommendations for such amendments to this Act as the Commissioner determines to be appropriate and in the public interest.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Health and the Environment.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Transportation and Hazardous Materials.
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