George Hacker

Last updated

George A. Hacker is an American lawyer who has headed the Alcohol Policies Project of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) [1] for three decades. He is co-chair of the Coalition for the Prevention of Alcohol Problems, whose members include the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (NCADD) and many other public health and prevention groups.

Between August 1989 and December 1992, Hacker directed alcohol programs at the Washington-based public interest support center, the Advocacy Institute. He also served as staff director for the National Coalition to Prevent Impaired Driving, a broad-based group of public health, traffic safety and law enforcement interests that promotes policies to reduce the toll of drinking driving in society.

At the Advocacy Institute, Hacker lead efforts to strengthen the ability of alcohol prevention policy advocates to use the media more effectively to educate the public and policy makers about environmental policy measures to reduce alcohol problems. The Institute provides training, technical assistance, informational materials and consultation on media advocacy issues.

As director for alcohol policies at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Hacker has led national efforts to combat alcoholic beverage industry marketing and advertising practices, to increase long-dormant alcohol excise tax rates, and to require warning labels on alcoholic beverage containers. He is the author of numerous newspaper and magazine articles on alcohol issues, and an author of several CSPI publications, including Last Call for High Risk Bar Promotions, State Alcohol Taxes and Health, Marketing Booze to Blacks, and The Booze Merchants.

Related Research Articles

Alcopop colloquial term for flavored beverage with small alcohol content

An alcopop is any of certain flavored alcoholic beverages with relatively low alcohol content, including:

  1. Malt beverages to which various fruit juices or other flavorings have been added
  2. Beverages containing wine to which ingredients such as fruit juice or other flavorings have been added
  3. Beverages containing distilled alcohol and sweet liquids such as fruit juices or other flavourings

A dram shop is a bar, tavern or similar commercial establishment where alcoholic beverages are sold. Traditionally, it is a shop where spirits were sold by the dram, a small unit of liquid.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is a nonprofit organization in the United States and Canada that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and strive for stricter impaired driving policy, whether that impairment is caused by alcohol or any other drug. The Irving, Texas–based organization was founded on September 5, 1980, in California by Candace Lightner after her 13-year-old daughter, Cari, was killed by a drunk driver. There is at least one MADD office in every state of the United States and at least one in each province of Canada. These offices offer victim services and many resources involving alcohol safety. MADD has claimed that drunk driving has been reduced by half since its founding.

Center for Science in the Public Interest consumer advocacy group

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit watchdog and consumer advocacy group that advocates for safer and healthier foods.

Alcohol advertising

Alcohol advertising is the promotion of alcoholic beverages by alcohol producers through a variety of media. Along with tobacco advertising, alcohol advertising is one of the most highly regulated forms of marketing. Some or all forms of alcohol advertising is banned in some countries. There have been some important studies about alcohol advertising published, such as J.P. Nelson's in 2000.

The Coalition for the Prevention of Alcohol Problems is a Washington D.C.-based coalition of 24 public health and consumer groups co-chaired by George Hacker of the Alcohol Policies Project at the Center for Science in the Public Interest and Stacia Murphy of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence.

Alcohol Justice

Alcohol Justice is a San Rafael, California-based non-profit advocacy, research and policy organization describing itself as "the industry watchdog." The Marin Institute was renamed and re-branded as Alcohol Justice in 2011; it was originally named The Marin Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Other Drug Problems.

Neo-prohibitionism is a current movement to attempt to stop consumption of alcohol in society through legislation and policies which further restrict the sale, possession, and marketing of alcohol in order to reduce average per capita consumption and change social norms to reduce its acceptability.

Alcohol exclusion laws permit insurance companies to deny claims associated with the consumption of alcohol. They were passed in the 1940s in the United States to discourage people from drinking alcoholic beverages and to save insurance companies money from alcohol-related claims. It was believed that people would be less likely to drive while impaired or intoxicated if insurance companies could deny medical payments or other claims associated with any injuries associated with the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Thirty-six states currently allow alcohol exclusions in health care insurance policies via either explicit exclusions or implicit exclusions determines by legal precedence. A growing number of states are overturning their alcohol exclusion laws, currently 14 states plus the District of Columbia prohibit insurance companies from including exclusions for alcohol intoxication.

Alcohol education is the practice of disseminating information about the effects of alcohol on health, as well as society and the family unit. It was introduced into the public schools by temperance organizations such as the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in the late 19th century. Initially, alcohol education focused on how the consumption of alcoholic beverages affected society, as well as the family unit. In the 1930s, this came to also incorporate education pertaining to alcohol's effects on health. For example, even light and moderate alcohol consumption increases cancer risk in individuals. Organizations such as the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in the United States were founded to promulgate alcohol education alongside those of the temperance movement, such as the American Council on Alcohol Problems.

Michael F. Jacobson American biologist

Michael F. Jacobson, who holds a Ph.D. in microbiology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is an American scientist and nutrition advocate.

The American Beverage Association (ABA) is a government lobbying group that represents the beverage industry in the United States. Its members include producers and bottlers of soft drinks, such as Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, bottled water, and other non-alcoholic beverages.

Alcohol powder or powdered alcohol or dry alcohol is a product generally made using micro-encapsulation. When reconstituted with water, alcohol in powder form becomes an alcoholic drink. In March 2015 four product labels for specific powdered alcohol products were approved by the United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) which opened the doors for legal product sales. However, as of January 4, 2016, the product is not yet available for sale and legalization remains controversial due to public-health and other concerns. Researchers have expressed concern that, should the product go into production, increases in alcohol misuse, abuse, and associated physical harm to its consumers could occur above what has been historically associated with liquid alcohol alone.

The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority is one of the eleven public safety agencies under the Secretariat of Public Safety and Homeland Security for the Commonwealth. The agency administers the state's ABC laws with an emphasis on public service and a focus on protecting citizens by ensuring a safe, orderly and regulated system for convenient distribution and responsible consumption of alcohol.

The Tavern League of Wisconsin (TLW) is a trade association of alcoholic beverage retailers in the state of Wisconsin. The League was created in 1935, two years after the end of Prohibition, and today has 5,000 members. The League is headquartered in Fitchburg, Wisconsin.

Alcohol law Wikimedia disambiguation page

Alcohol laws are laws in relation to the manufacture, use, being under the influence of and sale of alcohol or alcoholic beverages that contains ethanol. Common alcoholic beverages include beer, wine, and distilled spirits. The United States defines an alcoholic beverage as, "any beverage in liquid form which contains not less than one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume", but this definition varies internationally. These laws can restrict those who can produce alcohol, those who can buy it, when one can buy it, labelling and advertising, the types of alcoholic beverage that can be sold, where one can consume it, what activities are prohibited while intoxicated, and where one can buy it. In some cases, laws have even prohibited the use and sale of alcohol entirely, as with Prohibition in the United States from 1920 to 1933.

The alcohol industry is the commercial industry involved in the manufacturing, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages.

spiritsEUROPE represents producers of spirits drinks at the EU level.

Temperance movement in the United States

The Temperance movement in the United States is a movement to curb the consumption of alcohol. It had a large influence on American politics and American society in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, culminating in the unsuccessful prohibition of alcohol, through the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, from 1920 to 1933. Today, there are organizations that continue to promote the cause of temperance.

Alcohol packaging warning messages Warning Messages appearing on alcohol bottles regarding alcohol health issues

Alcohol packaging warning messages are warning messages that appear on the packaging of alcoholic beverages concerning their health effects. They have been implemented in an effort to enhance the public's awareness of the harmful effects of consuming alcoholic beverages, especially with respect to foetal alcohol syndrome and alcohol's carcinogenic properties. In general, warnings used in different countries try to emphasize the same messages. Warnings for some countries are listed below. Such warnings have been required in alcohol advertising for many years, although the content of the warnings differ by nation.

References

  1. Dowdall, George W. (2008). College drinking: reframing a social problem. ABC-CLIO. p. 107. ISBN   978-0-275-99981-0.