MARIN INSTITUTE: 2010 “FREE the BOWL" VIDEO CONTEST

Marin Institute launched its second annual, nationwide anti-alcohol-advertising contest, FREE the BOWL. This year’s theme is “Free the Bowl from Big Al” (a.k.a. Big Alcohol). The contest for youth and young adults ages 10 to 25 seeks original ads 30 to 60 seconds long to counter excessive alcohol advertising. The alcohol industry watchdog launched the contest at www.FreeTheBowl.com and is using YouTube to showcase entries.

1st Place Winners

“Day after day, year after year, youth and young adults are bombarded and harmed by Big Alcohol,” stated Michael Scippa, Marin Institute advocacy director. “This year’s contest asks for help identifying “Big Al’s” many faces, especially those that encourage underage drinking. We’re challenging young filmmakers to show us what Big Al looks like, where they see Big Al, and how Big Al harms them, their friends, and families.”

Research estimates 85,000 American deaths are caused by alcohol consumption annually while economic costs exceed $220 billion. More than 10 million underage youth drink alcohol annually, while 7 million binge drink. As a result, 5,000 youth under age 21 die, while hundreds of thousands more suffer alcohol-fueled sexual assaults and other injuries.

3rd Place Winner- from New Jersey

Between 2001 and 2007, Big Alcohol (global beer, wine, and spirits companies) placed more than 2 million alcohol ads on TV. This year, foreign-based alcohol corporations will spend half a billion dollars advertising during TV sports programs alone. These programs have the largest youth ad viewing audience of any type of programming with alcohol ads. It’s no secret Big Alcohol experiences its largest overall sales increase during the two-week period surrounding the Super Bowl.

“Big Al’s ads create an environment that promotes unhealthy consumption among youth and adults,” said Scippa. “That’s why Marin Institute is excited to host FreeTheBowl.com as a fun channel to protest oppressive alcohol ads.”

Big Alcohol’s Influence Peddling(Federal Figures):

• Anheuser-Busch spent $3.46 million on lobbying expenditures on 13

different lobbying firms in 2008

• MillerCoors and its two parent companies (SABMiller and Molson Coors

Brewing Company) spent a combined $2.5 million on lobbying expenditures in 2008.

• From 2004-2008, Molson Coors, Miller Brewing Company, and Coors

Brewing Company contributed nearly $1.08 million in political donations

Get the facts about the big brewers

Go to Free the Bowl

The Marin Institute is an alcohol industry watchdog.

VOICES OF HOPE VIDEO DOCUMENTS AN HISTORIC ADDICTION RECOVERY JOURNEY

Join Together, a program of the Boston University School of Public Health recently highlighted the Voices of Hope video that documented an historic journey of over 5000 addiction recovery advocates who came together to demonstrate the strength of addiction recovery and their determination to have addiction accepted and treated as a disease.



National, NYC metro and New Jersey participants made their way from Liberty State Park in Jersey City to the Brooklyn Bridge and back on Saturday, September 27, 2008. This year's Friend's Addiction Recovery Cruise and Rally was supported by the Recovery Project and the A&E Network.

JOIN THE HUMAN BRIDGE TO ADDICTION RECOVERY

The Recovery Project— Recovery Cruise and Rally, Saturday, September 27, 2008

Thousands of addiction recovery supporters from the tri-state area will come together to form a human bridge - a living symbol of recovery on the Brooklyn Bridge. The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence-New Jersey (NCADD-NJ) and sister organization, Friends of Addiction Recovery, partnering with A&E Television with alliances from the tri-state area will come together to raise awareness that addiction is a chronic but treatable disease that affects more than 22 million people nationwide.* The Recovery Project is a new initiative that confronts the stigma of addiction and unites people in the fight for effective treatment and support against this misunderstood disease. Recovery is possible, and we can all help. A&E Television's Recovery Project is a new initiative that confronts the stigma of addiction and unites people in the fight for effective treatment and support against this misunderstood disease. Recovery is possible, and we can all help. 

The day will include:

• Recovery Cruise to Brooklyn Bridge (registration required)
• T-Shirts for Cruise participants
• Live Entertainment/Celebrity Guests
• Walk across Brooklyn Bridge to form the Human Bridge of Recovery
• Cruise back from Manhattan to Liberty State Park, including free lunch
• Liberty State Park Rally for Recovery
• Keynote Speaker: David Carr, New York Times Journalist
• Battle of the Banners
• Recognition of NJ Recovery Delegates
• Recovery Voices Count ~ Voter Registration
• Shout Down Drugs Performers and other musical entertainment
• POWER OF THE CIRCLE and much more

*SOURCE: Overview of Findings from the 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health

VOICES | SELECT | FILM

Starting tonight, on Home Box Office, the documentary film "ADDICTION" will be previewed, and will be broadcast numerous times throughout the month. Some cable broadcasters will also be participating with a free HBO weekend starting on March 17th. HBO, in conjunction with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, has put together a campaign to educate Americans on drug and alcohol addiction. The campaign highlights the understanding of drug and alcohol addiction as a disease of the brain. The campaign centers on the 90-minute documentary and will proceed to broadcast a series of interviews with leading addiction experts throughout March.

OWN THE HBO SERIES ON DVD AND HOST A HOUSE PARTY ANYTIME

The four-disc set includes topics such as The Adolescent Addict, The Science of Relapse, Parents of Opiate-Addicted Children, The CRAFT Approach to treatment and Brain Imaging are explored to show the complexities of both addiction and recovery. Three discs of additional content are provided that will not premiere on the network. An interactive Addiction: Communities Take Action website will arm communities with tools, including a hosting toolkit and viewer's guide, to support their efforts. Purchase your DVD for year-round screenings and community gatherings with family, friends, neighbors and colleagues.