A new line of alcoholic drinks is making underage drinking easier and more attractive. ShotPaks, which were launched in January 2007, are laminated foil packages that contain 50 milliliters about 1.7 ounces of alcohol (either 34 proof cocktails or 80 proof spirits). The cocktail ShotPaks feature vodka mixed with lemon, sour apple, raspberry, or sweet and sour flavorings. The lines Str8up label (for the non-text-messengers among us, thats pronounced straight up ) includes similarly sized pouches of unmixed vodka, rum, tequila, and whiskey.
Though the manufacturers website heralds the products packaging as an eco-friendly means of enhancing consistency and security, critics have noted that, among other concerns, a ShotPak looks a lot like the juice pouches that have become a school-lunch staple in recent decades.
As Los Angeles Times staff writer Jerry Hirsch reported in an Aug. 12 article titled Taking Shots at ShotPak, whats inside the package may be just as objectionable as the way the products are being sold.
Combining vodka with raspberry drinks & and calling it a party in a pouch. Who are they appealing to? Dr. Michael Brody of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry asked Hirsch. This isnt the kind of thing adults drink.
THE NEWEST ALCOPOP
For years, critics of the alcohol industry have voiced objections over what they call alcopops sweetened alcohol beverages that opponents say are aimed at young drinkers who may be put off by the harsh taste of beer, wine, or liquor.
Industry representatives have consistently denied targeting underage drinkers, but a study released by the nonprofit health advocacy organization Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) reported that alcopops like Bacardi Breezers, Mikes Hard Lemonade, and Hoopers
Hooch are quite popular among those who are too young to legally drink alcohol:
· 41 percent of teens 14 to 18 surveyed by CSPI said they have tried an alcopop.
· 90 percent of the teens told CPSI that drinking the sweeter drinks make it more likely that teenagers will try other alcoholic beverages.
· Among teens ages 14 to 16, alcopops are twice as popular as beer or mixed drinks.
· More than 50 percent of the teens who were questioned cited the products sweet taste, the disguised taste of alcohol, and their easy-to-drink character as primary reasons why they prefer alcopops to beer, wine, or cocktails.
· 90 percent of teens and 76 percent of adults believe that companies who make alcoholic beverages that taste like lemonade are doing so in an attempt to lure young drinkers.
Booze merchants formulate the products and the design of their labeling and packaging specifically to appeal to people who dont like the taste of alcohol, which includes teenagers, CSPIs director for alcohol policy, George Hacker, said during the May 2001 press conference that announced the surveys results.
Alcopops are gateway drugs that ease young people into drinking and pave the way to more traditional alcoholic beverages, said Hacker, who was quoted in a release that was posted on the Alcohol Policies Project website.
'PARTY IN A POUCH
Alcohol manufacturers and distributors shy away from the kid-friendly alcopop label, opting instead to describe products like ShotPak as belonging to the single serve ready to drink category. Though industry spokespeople may prefer sterile terminology, the ShotPak marketing team is much more colorful.
The primary pitch to potential ShotPak consumers is that the product is A Party in a Pouch. This tagline is displayed prominently on the ShotPak website (alongside rotating images of the eight varieties that are currently available and the invitation to Mix with Your Friends ). On the products MySpace page, the primary photo is a neck-to-thigh image of a woman with a bare midriff and a Purple Hooter (raspberry-vodka combination) ShotPak in her front pocket.
Until recently, the MySpace photo was also featured on the ShotPak website itself but in April 2008, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States cited the company for violating the trade groups advertising standards.
The companys official stance is that they are pitching their product to the 25+ market segment known as the Millennial Generation or Generation Y who have busy lifestyles. Their parents are teaching them the more sophisticated style of consumption.
But observers such as Hacker believe that ShotPaks marketing efforts put the lie to this corporate claim. Images of these packs stuffed in jeans pockets can give kids the wrong idea. It turns this into an alcoholic candy bar, he told Hirsch for the reporters Aug. 12 Times article.
A post on the Choose Responsibility website echoes Hackers sentiments, noting that the real danger is that the small size and sweet taste of ShotPaks make them tasty, easily concealable and, in other words, very appealing to underage drinkers. By helping to push drinking more undercover, ShotPaks make binge drinking even harder to monitor amongst both underage and of-age drinkers.
SPREADING THE WORD
The concerns raised by CSPI, Choose Responsibility, and other advocacy organizations have yet to make a measureable dent in ShotPaks sales performance.
On his blog, R. Charles Murray (chief executive officer of the corporation that owns ShotPak, Inc.) reported that ShotPak case sales increased dramatically between the first six months of 2007 when the product was introduced into the marketplace and the same period the following year. And if Murrays public writings are any indication, the company doesnt plan to be shy in its efforts to spread the word about ShotPaks:
It is well documented that companies that continued to be aggressive in sales and marketing during economic downturns also made sure they stayed in sight and top of mind with their customers, consumers and prospects in order to be successful, Murray wrote in a July 23 entry. Our philosophy & has always been publicize, advertise or we perish! The next quarter we are placing more marketing dollars into initiatives that have direct and measurable numbers impact.
ShotPak is hardly alone in its aggressive efforts to court new customers but because young people are such voracious consumers of popular media, they may be disproportionately affected by alcohol advertising.
According to Georgetown Universitys Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, the amount of alcohol advertising children and teenagers saw on television increased by 41 percent between 2001 and 2005. And the Alliance on Underage Drinking has reported that magazine readers who arent old enough to legally drink alcohol see 45 percent more beer ads and 27 percent more liquor ads than individuals over the age of 21 do.
KEEPING KIDS SAFE
Media specialists advise parents to help their children fend off this onslaught of media-delivered pressure to drink alcohol by limiting their screen time (television and Internet), monitoring the media they use, and engaging them in conversations about the messages (and the motives behind these messages) that companies are attempting to convey through their advertisements.
According to the Adolescent Substance Abuse Knowledge Base, parents who suspect that their children have already begun to experiment with alcohol or other drugs should be on the lookout for the following signs:
Severe drops in grades
Withdrawals from extracurricular activities and increased absences from school
Mood swings and abnormal sleeping patterns
Secretive behavior and changes in friends
Changes in appearance and reduced attention to personal hygiene
As is true of almost every challenge related to raising healthy and well-adjusted children, constant vigilance and continued education remain parents best resources in the effort to keep their teenagers away from alcohol and other dangerous drugs.
Related sites:
Teen Over the Counter Drug Abuse
Labels: shotpaks, alcopops, shotpacks
Posted By: Vee