Children & Media

In the Nov. 14 edition of his Breakpoint commentary, Chuck Colson noted that advertisers of "adult" products are increasingly targeting young people.

"A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that 'for every million more readers ages 12 to 19, a magazine had 60 percent more advertisements for beer and distilled liquor.'

"I don't think it's a question of "indirectly" appealing to underage drinkers at all. I think the alcohol industry knows exactly what it's doing - just like the cigarette industry did with its now infamous "Joe Camel" image. Problem drinkers don't usually start in middle age. It's when you get a kid hooked at age sixteen that you've got him for life. And it's easier to get him hooked at an age when his paramount concern is to be "cool," to fit in with everyone else. In their relentless drive for more and more profits, both the alcohol industry and the magazine industry have completely forgotten their responsibility to society and to children."