Coalition for the Prevention of Alcohol Problems

1875 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 300

Washington, DC  20009

Overview

The Coalition for the Prevention of Alcohol Problems (CPAP), co-chaired by CSPI and the National Council on Alcohol and Drug Dependence (NCADD), promotes national policies to reduce alcohol problems and combat the political influence of alcoholic beverage industry interests in our nation's capital.

Groups represented on the coalition steering committee include CSPI, NCADD, The Consumer Federation of America, American Public Health Association, American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, the ARC, and National Parent-Teacher Association.  Over 120 organizations now participate in the Coalition for the Prevention of Alcohol Problems.

The Coalition has identified the following issues as potential priorities for our legislative agenda.

COALITION INTERESTS:

I.    Restrictions on alcohol advertising, including:

• Placement of rotating health and safety messages in all alcohol advertisements.

• Equal time for health and safety messages in the broadcast medium.

• Elimination of ads that promote the association of drinking and risky activities.

• Reform of alcohol ads that associate drinking with sexual and social success.

• Restrictions on the promotional activities of alcohol companies on college campuses.

• Restrictions on alcohol advertisements that target youth.  This would include: restrictions on sponsorship of youth-oriented events such as rock concerts and sporting events; and an alcohol-free viewing period in the broadcast viewing and listening media.

• Disallowance of tax deductions for alcohol advertising.

II.    Improvements in alcoholic beverage labeling, including strengthening and expanding the current mandated warning label and providing additional consumer on alcoholic beverage containers, such as ingredients, alcohol content, calories, information about standard units of service, and a toll-free telephone number for consumer questions about alcohol.

III.    Increase in federal alcohol excise taxes and equalization of the tax rate on all beverage alcohol types.

IV.    Stronger regulation of alcoholic beverage industry practices by federal agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Federal Trade Commission.

V.    Expanded research on alcohol advertising, labeling and tax issues through the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other public and private agencies.

VI.    Promotion within the legislative and executive branches of government of a better understanding of alcohol as America's costliest and most widespread drug problem.

VII.    Stronger demand-reduction policies related to alcohol, and proposals to expand public alcoholism treatment and prevention initiatives.

HOW THE COALITION WORKS:

The Steering Committee meets periodically in Washington, DC to set CPAP's advocacy agenda and strategy. Organization members are invited to participate in CPAP meetings, keep informed through the CPAP listserv, sign onto coalition letters, and help disseminate grassroots action alerts that will advance CPAP's agenda.  For more information about being a CPAP member, click here.

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