"The alcohol industry falsely claims that their business helps the nation’s economy, in an attempt to justify the sale of their harmful products. When in reality they harm the economy. Our nation spends more money each year dealing with the social, medical, and economic damages caused by alcohol use than the alcohol industry makes in sales.
The alcohol industry claims that their businesses will bring in tax revenue. In reality, the federal, state, and local governments spend far more money dealing with the problems caused by alcohol than they ever receive in taxes, and most of those costs end up being paid for by higher taxes on the rest of us.
The alcohol industry claims that it brings business to communities. In reality, their business siphons consumer money away from honest businesses, damages workforce productivity, fosters increased violence and crime in neighborhoods, and in many other ways contributes to an environment that is less suitable for most other businesses to operate. Alcohol businesses grow by sucking the life and vitality out of the communities in which they reside.
The alcohol industry promotes habitual alcohol use, increased alcohol use, and addiction, so that it can profit off exploiting users, without regard for how it will negatively affect the users and other people around them. All too often, their profiteering drains away money that could have been spent by people to meet their needs or the needs of their families, that could have been spent on something that would benefit their lives rather than harming them, and that could have been spent on supporting honest businesses and their workers.
On top of that, the damaging mental and physical effects of alcohol damage use productivity and harm the ability of people to make a living. The effects of alcohol use produce a variety of illnesses and injuries, which lead to shortened lives and increased medical costs.
The alcohol industry and its products contribute to increased poverty, to childhood poverty, to the abuse and neglect of children, to increased violence and crime, and so many other things that serve to deprive people of a decent life.
The alcohol industry does not bring the prosperity it claims. It never has and it never will. It will just make our communities sicker, poorer, and more highly taxed. The alcohol industry profits off exploiting and harming others, while the rest of us are forced to pay the costs of the damages.
The alcohol industry peddles lies to try to deceive the public into accepting their practices because they know that when enough of the public understands what’s really going on, they will be put out of business. The alcohol industry thinks that if they repeat their lies enough times that they can continue to deceive the public. But we hold that if the truth is repeated enough times, then public awareness will grow. That one day enough people will be aware of the situation, that the alcohol industry will no longer be able to keep up their charade, and their glass house of deception and excuses will come crashing down."
