It's great to see a reminder that telling young people about age limits isn't generally an effective way to reduce demand. Several years ago, research showed that tobacco industry prevention messages had the opposite effect.  I'm guessing (and some small studies have shown) that the same is true of "efforts" by the alcohol industry.  It's too bad even some government agencies are teaming up with the alcohol industry to promote messages that are unlikely to have our desired effect.  

 

If we want young people to believe that drinking is not the be-all-end all, we need to prove it.  I have an older brother. When he did fun things, I wanted to do them too. It didn't make me want those experiences less to be told that I had to be a certain age. It is vital that our communities, at all levels, work together to reduce the availability of alcohol to underage drinkers, the occasions for underage drinking and the demand for alcohol among young people. All message directed at young people should be thoroughly vetted to ensure they have the desired effect. And many more messages should be targeted at adults, who set the example (in reality and the media) of what fun is.  The Institute of Medicine was clear on this years ago.