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					<TD><b>Comment Number:</b></TD>

					<TD>522852-00276</TD>

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					<TD><b>Received Date:</b></TD>

					<TD>5/2/2006 3:09:35 PM</TD>

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					<TD><b>Organization:</b></TD>

					<TD></TD>

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					<TD><b>Commenter:</b></TD>

					<TD>Bookbinder, Mark</TD>

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					<TD><b>State:</b></TD>

					<TD>MD</TD>

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					<TD><b>Agency:</b></TD>

					<TD>Federal Trade Commission</TD>

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					<TD><b>Rule:</b></TD>

					<TD>Proposed Information Requests to Manufacturers of Alcoholic Beverages</TD>

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					<TD><b>Docket ID:</b></TD>

					<TD>PO64505</TD>

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					<td colspan='2'>No Attachments</td>

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<b>Comments:</b><br/><br/>


Chairman Deborah Platt Majoras

 
Dear Chairman Platt Majoras,


Good day. I support the Federal Trade Commission's (FTC)

intention to issue a new report reviewing alcohol industry

advertising practices and compliance with voluntary advertising

codes, ans strongly urge the FTC to issue an in-depth and

complete report. The federal government does not do nearly

enough to monitor alcohol industry marketing. Self-regulation by

the alcoholic beverage industry is clearly insufficient, given

the well-documented, repeated failures of alcohol manufacturers

to adhere to voluntary guidelines, and the well-documented

effects of the underage drinking that is thus supported. 


Underage drinking results in death and serious injury to

thousands of young people every year. In violation of its own

standards, the alcohol industry flagrantly conducts slick

marketing campaigns, crafted with obvious youth appeal, in media

outlets and sports venues that have a large underage audience. 


Because of the massive public health costs of underage drinking

and the alcohol industry's utter failure to police itself, I

urge the FTC to strengthen its reporting process in the

following ways: 


1. Report on alcohol industry advertising practices once a year,

as the FTC now does with tobacco advertising. An annual report

on alcohol advertising compliance would greatly increase

accountability of alcohol marketers. 


2. Collect detailed data, including product brands popular with

youth, target-audience ethnicity, sports-related marketing, and

magazine and television advertising where youth audience rates

exceed 15 percent. 


3. Collect information on "responsibility" and "prevention"

advertising by alcoholic-beverage companies, as well as

advertising touting charitable activities of alcoholic-beverage

producers or promoting the "health benefits" of alcoholic

beverages. 


4. Compare voluntary advertising compliance among various

segments of the alcoholic-beverage industry, and make

recommendations for both strengthening and enforcing advertising

standards. 


Thank you for considering my views. I hope to see the FTC play a

continued and increasingly active role in protecting our youth

from irresponsible and dangerous alcohol marketing. 


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