Someone recently wrote a letter to the editor of The Roanoke Times complaining about the ubiquity of beer related stories in the paper. Writing from a public health perspective, Mr. Klein found it bewildering that a women’s health event that a local clinic was sponsoring was being held at a brewery. He wrote, “Have we really gotten to the point as a society where alcohol is so pervasive that it has to be used to entice people to every social event even those designed to promote a healthy lifestyle.”
Klein finds the integration and normalization of alcohol throughout society troubling. This was a big point of contention for the public health activists on the Massachusetts Alcohol Tax Force sub-committee that I served on. They were all people who were working to prevent underage drinking. They also felt that the presence of alcohol at so many community events sends mixed messages. This is something Klein also pointed out.
Klein reminded readers that alcohol consumption can lead to addiction; something that is overlooked in the promotion of events. He apparently lives in Blacksburg, Virginia which is a college town. I also live in a college town where students periodically drink to excess.
There were seven comments in response to Klein’s letter. One pointed out that college students are probably not drinking craft beer which has a higher price point. Most of the other comments focused on the economic benefits of beer to the local economy This is the perennial tension between the public health movement and officials seeking economic development.