Distillers Begin Leading The Charge Against Alcohol Abuse And Impaired Driving

Source: https://www.forbes.com/

Tara Nurin

October 19, 2018

Distillers are teaming up with an anti-alcohol abuse foundation to prevent impaired driving and overconsumption. (Credit: Getty Royalty Free)

The promotion of an alcohol industry executive may read as a little too “inside baseball” for a mass market audience but what’s notable about the appointment of Chris Swonger to president and CEO of both the Distilled Spirits Council and the Foundation for Advancing Alcohol Responsibility (Responsibility.Org) is that it demonstrates the U.S. spirits industry is taking on a much greater role in promoting responsible drinking. Swonger, a government affairs executive who previously spent 15 years directing government relations for trade leaders Beam and the former Allied Domecq, will head the two groups, being brought together for the first time under common executive leadership.

The goal, according to the council, is to “amplify the impact of their collective work.”

Swonger said in a statement, “I plan to vigorously promote moderation and responsibility, while advocating for market access, equal treatment and common-sense policies that enable the continued growth of the distilled spirits industry.”

The council serves as the nation’s primary lobbying and advocacy group for distillers whose products sell in the U.S. It has supported responsibility.org with $300 million in funding since 1991. After the former CEOs of both groups individually announced their resignations as of June 2018 and the two associations each underwent a strategic review process, their boards decided to more closely align themselves. Each will maintain its own identity and mission.

However, under the new structure, which officially takes effect January 1, 2019, council leaders and members will take on more efforts to prevent drunk driving and underage drinking.

Foundation chairman Mike Keyes said in a statement, “Underage drinking and drunk driving are at historic lows in the U.S., and Responsibility.org under Ralph Blackman’s leadership has played a critical role in this progress. . Our work is not done, and Chris is the ideal leader to build on our progress and advance this important mission.”

The council reports that since the foundation’s inception almost three decades ago, “driving fatalities have decreased 31% and lifetime alcohol consumption among our nation’s youth has decreased 48%.”

Much of the foundation’s work focuses on education. Its website contains a wide range of data and modern tools in English and Spanish to discourage drunk and drugged driving and over-consumption, particularly for kids and underage adults.

Examples of its resources include:

A calendar to remind parents of dates (like New Year’s Eve and spring break) to relay specific safety messages to their kids

A #startswithme Twitter campaign that, among other things, starts a dialogue with bartenders about safe service

A Virtual Bar app that lets drinkers plan ahead by plugging in detailed factors that mitigate or exacerbate drunkenness such as whether they expect to eat Chinese food or pizza on a given night

A course to teach judges how to make informed decisions when trying and sentencing drunk drivers

A checklist for policymakers that provides practical suggestions on how to implement responsible alcohol laws and information they should gather before making decisions on what makes sense for their communities

Research and guidance for parole and probation officers to improve supervision and treatment of female offenders

This list merely scratches the surface of the foundation’s non-judgmental, non-punitive, multi-pronged approach to combatting the potential dangers associated with alcohol. For instance, it recently partnered with Harvard Medical School to, as the website states, “Explore innovative approaches to address the relationship between psychiatric profiles and repeat offenders.” A research grant to the American College of Emergency Physicians allows the college’s research arm to test a program that uses text messaging to intervene with young adults at risk for dangerous consumption.

A current push is to warn stakeholders that while drinking and driving incidents have drastically decreased, driving under the influence of marijuana and opioids is on the rise.