Alcohol Warning Label Controversy: Teen Girls Should Be Cautioned, Or "Rape Warning" Is Sexist?

Alcohol warning labels are being called for. The Canadian Medical Association Journal published an editorial that is concerned about alcohol advertising, particularly towards young girls.  Some, however, are calling the attitude in the editorial "man-splaining" and feel it is inappropriate.

The editorial calls for alcohol warning labels to be in ads. The editorial claims that studies show that teen girls see about 68% of alcohol ads aimed at young women. By contrast, only about ¼ of drinking-age women see the ads.

"They spend more time on the Net, they spend more time watching television, they spend more time flipping through magazines," Flegel, who is a senior associate editor responsible for research at the journal,  said.

According to the editorial, "female-specific risks are already well known and include violence, unwanted sex and pregnancy."  Some, however, take issue with this notion.

A Jezebel article feels that warning girls that alcohol is "risky" is sending the wrong message. It says that teen girls who are abused aren't to blame for the risks of violence and pregnancy after consuming alcohol-it's the perpetrators of sexual violence who are responsible.

The article says, sarcastically, that an appropriate label would be, "WARNING: drinking too much, as a young women, may result in someone sexually assaulting you because they feel entitled to your body. It may also cause authorities to not take your case seriously when you attempt to get help or take legal action. It may furthermore cause your peers to blame you for your own attack and then re-victimize you. Also, please be careful about your liver."

The controversy is brewing online, with commenters weighing in on both sides. What will happen in the alcohol warning label debate is yet to be seen.

The alcohol warning labels are also being called for, in part, because of data that shows that teen girls are now as likely to report binge drinking. A decade or so ago, male students were between 50 and 100 times more likely than girls to report binge drinking. Now, the numbers are even.

Another researcher, Dr. Robert Mann, said "That's quite a substantial change in the past 10 or 20 years"

"I'm amazed, I'm absolutely amazed that we do not have warning labels in this country."

The editorial also pointed out that women generally weigh less than men, so may get intoxicated more quickly and have higher risks of alcohol-related disease.