A distillery is halting production of discount four-litre vodka jugs after the Alberta minister responsible for the province's liquor industry called out the product for not being responsibly priced.
My issue is honestly the marketing. Calling it “the party jug” pretty much tells everyone exactly what it’s for, and let’s just say it’s probably not for your doctor recommended 1-2 drink daily maximum. Now I’m not a teetotaller or anything, but this is obviously directed at quite a young audience, which I think is a bit problematic.
I personally think there should be some hard ethical bounds on marketing when it comes to potentially life wrecking substances. We do this for cigarettes, right?
Now I think humankind’s relationship with alcohol is a bit more nuanced, but when alcohol packaging starts to look like sugary cereal boxes, that’s where I draw the line. Admittedly this isn’t quite there, but it’s borderline IMO. I don’t think we should be encouraging binge drinking by selling party sized mix packs like this. Mind you, it’s not the size or price that bothers me. My grandma always bought gallon bottles of booze from the US on the cheap, but they’d last her a few years. That’s fine. Sell it without fun-dinosaur, and put on a boring-ass, noname vodka label, and it’s fine by me.
Just an addendum, I feel similarly about marketing of sugary cereal to children.
I don’t think it’s marketed to young people, I think it’s marketed to severe alcoholics. There are a shocking number of people who will go through this jug in a day or two.
I agree with the minister’s concerns that it’s too cheap. I recently moved from BC and it seems that bottom shelf hard liquor in general in Alberta is too cheap.
I’m not saying just sin tax the shit, it’s too cheap in proportion to other alcohol. The low-income problem drinker who switches from beer to jugs of vodka to save money is going to make their problem much much worse.
Go home. They like shit excuses for logic better on the other side the mountains. Nobody’s switching from beer to vodka by the gallon, they’re already there. 2x2 liters instead of a gallon jug, big fucking difference. Saskatchewan you can buy vodka by the 5 gallon blue water jug.
Calling it “the party jug” pretty much tells everyone exactly what it’s for…
…sharing with a large group of people?
this is obviously directed at quite a young audience
To me it seems aimed at people that want to buy a lot of alcohol for not very much money, which tends to be young people, but they don’t seem to have done anything in particular to target young people.
1 liter of vodka is more than enough to kill a healthy adult by alcohol poisoning. It’s not the size of the container that prevents that. Are these 4 liter jugs less expensive than 1 liter bottles?
If you want to prevent alcohol deaths you should focus on addressing the causes of alcoholism (I’m not an expert but shooting from the hip: loneliness and hopelessness) and drunk driving (again, not an expert but: transit infrastructure).
The results also suggested that compared with general price increases, minimum- pricing policies might affect harmful drinkers proportionally more…
I guess I’d be pleased to see the provincial Alberta government embrace epidemiologically based policy making. Especially if they do it consistently and not just when it aligns with their ideology.
My issue is honestly the marketing. Calling it “the party jug” pretty much tells everyone exactly what it’s for, and let’s just say it’s probably not for your doctor recommended 1-2 drink daily maximum. Now I’m not a teetotaller or anything, but this is obviously directed at quite a young audience, which I think is a bit problematic.
Why? Seems arbitrary to cry foul about that.
I personally think there should be some hard ethical bounds on marketing when it comes to potentially life wrecking substances. We do this for cigarettes, right?
Now I think humankind’s relationship with alcohol is a bit more nuanced, but when alcohol packaging starts to look like sugary cereal boxes, that’s where I draw the line. Admittedly this isn’t quite there, but it’s borderline IMO. I don’t think we should be encouraging binge drinking by selling party sized mix packs like this. Mind you, it’s not the size or price that bothers me. My grandma always bought gallon bottles of booze from the US on the cheap, but they’d last her a few years. That’s fine. Sell it without fun-dinosaur, and put on a boring-ass, noname vodka label, and it’s fine by me.
Just an addendum, I feel similarly about marketing of sugary cereal to children.
I don’t think it’s marketed to young people, I think it’s marketed to severe alcoholics. There are a shocking number of people who will go through this jug in a day or two.
I agree with the minister’s concerns that it’s too cheap. I recently moved from BC and it seems that bottom shelf hard liquor in general in Alberta is too cheap.
You moved from BC to whine liquor is too cheap? go home.
It’s an observation dipshit.
P.S. I grew up here
Go the fuck home, moron. Charging more doesn’t slow the problem drinkers down, it just adds to their troubles.
I am home, suck my dick
I’m not saying just sin tax the shit, it’s too cheap in proportion to other alcohol. The low-income problem drinker who switches from beer to jugs of vodka to save money is going to make their problem much much worse.
Go home. They like shit excuses for logic better on the other side the mountains. Nobody’s switching from beer to vodka by the gallon, they’re already there. 2x2 liters instead of a gallon jug, big fucking difference. Saskatchewan you can buy vodka by the 5 gallon blue water jug.
…sharing with a large group of people?
To me it seems aimed at people that want to buy a lot of alcohol for not very much money, which tends to be young people, but they don’t seem to have done anything in particular to target young people.
1 liter of vodka is more than enough to kill a healthy adult by alcohol poisoning. It’s not the size of the container that prevents that. Are these 4 liter jugs less expensive than 1 liter bottles?
If you want to prevent alcohol deaths you should focus on addressing the causes of alcoholism (I’m not an expert but shooting from the hip: loneliness and hopelessness) and drunk driving (again, not an expert but: transit infrastructure).
Laughs in Finnish
You kind of countered your own comment at the end
One of the leading causes of alcoholism is cheap access to alcohol
I’ve done some toggling and found this article abstract.
and what I have to say is this:
Touche.
Key sentence:
I guess I’d be pleased to see the provincial Alberta government embrace epidemiologically based policy making. Especially if they do it consistently and not just when it aligns with their ideology.