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THE MEDIA’S DOUBLE STANDARD DONALD SCHOFIELD There are millions of people in our society, especially teenagers, that are exposed to large billboards, humorous television commercials, magazines, and movies all containing some type of alcohol use or advertisement. Yet, there are anti-alcohol and drug programs, such as D.A.R.E. that degrade usage. There is a double standard in American advertising to the point that adolescents are left to decide for themselves if they should consume alcohol, smoke, or use drugs. Suppose you are driving down the expressway. Somewhere along your journey you are bound to see a large billboard advertising some sort of alcoholic beverage. This sort of advertisement will most likely contain some young happy people skiing in the mountains combined with a catchy quote, such as, “Tap the Rockies”. Another place you will notice the use of alcohol is in many movies, nowadays, such as, ‘American Pie 2‘. Movies such as these display teenagers drinking alcohol and enjoying themselves. It is advertisements and movies such as these that are causing controversy between anti-alcohol campaigners and beer and wine makers. Are these portrayals of alcohol influencing teenagers to drink more? This is a ve