November 8, 2007
For Immediate Release
Contacts:
Boston Misses the Bus on Alcohol Advertising
New National Survey Finds MBTA Ad Policy among Nation’s
Worst
BOSTON -- In the wake of a new
national report from Marin Institute that finds the
Massachusetts Bay Area Transportation Authority (MBTA) is
one of only two major public transit systems that
explicitly allow alcohol advertising, a coalition of local
organizations, community leaders, activists, parents and
youth are stepping up their call for an end to alcohol ads
on the T.
“It is unfathomable – in the midst of
an epidemic of underage drinking in Massachusetts – that a
government agency would allow alcohol advertising on
public space,” said Amy Helburn of Massachusetts Banding
Together Against Alcohol-Advertising. “It is past time
for the MBTA to join with other transit agencies around
the country in recognizing that the small amount of
revenue generated by these ads is not worth the cost to
public health.”
Released today, the report, entitled
The End of the Line for Alcohol Ads on Public Transit,
details the policies of twenty major public transit
systems. Of the systems surveyed, only NYC and Boston
have policies that claim to protect children, yet still
allow alcohol advertising. And in New York, State
Assemblyman Felix Ortiz has just introduced legislation
that would outlaw alcohol ads on mass transit.
“The connection between youth
exposure to alcohol ads and underage drinking is well
documented,” said Michele Simon, JD, MPH, research and
policy director at the alcohol watchdog Marin Institute.
Simon said: “Boston should join Chicago, San Francisco,
Philadelphia, Seattle, and many others in saying no to
alcohol ads on public transit. It’s not only possible
legally, but commonsense policy.”
Alcohol advertising for products
ranging from Coors Light to Svedka Vodka routinely appears
on MBTA trains and buses. In Greater Boston, 25,000 youth
depend on the T to get to school each day. Countless
other youth are subjected to alcohol advertising on
wrapped trains and buses traveling through their
communities. Since January 2005, politicians, community
leaders, public health advocates, and concerned parents
and youth have urged the MBTA to change its policy on
alcohol advertising, but the agency has refused, claiming
it relies on the money generated by theses ads. But
alcohol advertising accounts for only 0.1% percent of
MBTA’s total revenue.
The MBTA’s stance on alcohol
advertising is particularly puzzling since just last year
the agency amended its policy on videogame advertising so
that it no longer accepts ads for games rated as
unsuitable for children under 17. The agency made the
change within weeks of receiving a public letter that
expressed concern about advertisements for the violent
videogame Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories on
the outside of the Green Line trains.
“It is disappointing that an agency
that was so responsive to concerns about advertising that
promotes media violence refuses to acknowledge the
negative impact of alcohol ads,” said Josh Golin,
Associate Director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free
Childhood, which wrote and organized the videogame
letter. “A publicly funded state agency should not be in
the business of undermining public health.”
To read the complete report, please
visit:
www.marininstitute.org.
