What Teens are Saying About "Alcopops"

"ALCOPOPS" APPEAL TO TEEN TASTES

• "It's a drink to mess you up without you knowing it."

• "For people who don't like the taste of alcohol, it is a way to get drunk without the bad taste."

• "Yes. The lemonade just tastes like lemonade. It's got a tang."

• "It's like carbonated lemonade."

• "Sweeter than beer. It is better tasting than like beer or vodka or something."

• "It's what you drink, like, every day, like lemonade or fruit punch. It's like every day drinks. That's why."

TEENS THINK "ALCOPOP" MARKETERS ARE TARGETING THEM

[Responses to the question: Who do you think they are trying to attract to these products?]

• "Kids."

• "Younger people I guess. I think older people would think they're a little too mature for that."

• "Anybody who likes lemonade."

• "Our age, probably."

• "A younger age."

• "I think that teenagers are more likely to drink Mike's Hard Lemonade than a 20-year-old would be. Just because of the taste. It's more sweet."

• "They have to know that kids are going to see that, and find it appealing. It's sort of like a dirty scheme. They are out to get you."

TEENS RECOGNIZE "ALCOPOPS" AS A GATEWAY DRINK

• "It's possible that they [kids] could progress onto another thing. They might try harder alcohol. They can get drunk faster."

• "It's a gateway kind of thing."

• "I think these things are going to start breeding alcoholics. That's my theory. You start young and you grow up liking it."

• "You got to crawl before you can walk."

SOURCE: Verbatim quotes from dialogue on "alcopops" among 15 to 17 year-olds in two focus groups conducted for CSPI by Penn, Schoen & Berland Associates, Inc. in Westchester, NY (January 30, 2001), and Boston, MA (February 2, 2001).

To view further information on "alcopops," click here.