Are We Addicted to Alcohol Advertising?

Alcohol has become a major problem in modern society,but what instigated the problem? Was it boredom? Advertising? To kill time? " The alcoholic beverage industry spends approximately two billion dollars each year on advertising and promotions in the United States.3 Over $800 million was spent on television advertising alone. In 1988 breweries in the United States paid for about 10 percent of all sponsorships of athletic, music, cultural, and other special events. They fund activities such as sports events, rock concerts, and college 'spring break' promotions activities that generally attract large audiences of under-age drinkers.
Alcohol advertising, especially in the broadcast media, represents the single greatest source of alcohol education for consumers. Beer and wine ads depict alcohol products as the ultimate reward for a football game well played or a job well done; they associate the consumption of beer and wine with financial success and romance; and in somecases, they explicitly encourage heavy drinking. Creativity, big money, and more than a little finesse formulate a message that alcohol is a necessary ingredient to enjoy a sports event or a night on the town." Source taken from http://health20-20.org/ Maybe that is one of the main instigators, as media influences pretty much everything in normal day life. If you see something very often in normal life you begin to think that it is normal because you become accustomed to it! I think people should take responsibility for their own actions, it wouldn't do a thing to ban alcohol promotion or sales; just like in the Prohibition Period in America because it would only get smuggled in and cause more problems.