My Suspicions were right!
My suspicions were right! Apparently the American Medical Association (AMA) has previously reported “junk science” as fact when it comes to alcohol consumption. Thank you, Rachel R., for bringing to my attention the Op-Ed in PR Week by Greg Schneiders. It’s nice to know that folks are beginning to pick up on the truth surrounding these loosely characterized “studies.”
According to the Op-Ed, in 2001 the AMA released a “study” on college binge drinking, but again their polling methodology was flawed.
It’s a shame that the AMA didn’t use more scientific polling to conduct their studies as they are typically a credible organization that serves to improve the health of our nation. I’m shocked that when it came to underage drinking and alcohol abuse they didn’t ensure that their polling methods were more accurate.
In contrast, I thought I’d draw your attention to a study that Anheuser-Busch commissioned recently, which found that a vast majority of American drinkers ages 21 and over (94 percent), say they drink responsibly and in moderation. The survey assesses the attitudes and behaviors of American adults regarding responsible and moderate drinking and found overwhelming public support for moderation.
While we’re pleased to hear these results, what’s more important is the methodology that was applied to the survey and lends a great deal of credibility to the results. A-B partnered with Harris Interactive, a leading, reputable market research firm, widely known within that industry. The methodology was laid out in the original press release announcing the findings:
Harris Interactive conducted the telephone survey on behalf of Anheuser-Busch between March 2-6, 2006, among a nationwide cross section of 963 U.S. adults ages 21 and over (26 and over in California), of whom, 816 drink alcohol beverages. The data were weighted to be representative of the total U.S. adult population on the basis of education, age by sex, race/ethnicity, region, household income and number of telephone lines in the household. In theory, with a probability sample of this size, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the overall results, as well as the results for those who drink alcohol beverages, have a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points of what they would be if the entire U.S. adult population had been polled with complete accuracy.
I find it comforting when groups who conduct important studies of this nature disclose how they arrived at the results. The Harris study is a perfect example.
As I’ve said before, it’s impossible to fix a problem if the information we receive about it is a result of unscientific polls, studies that inflate the problem without evidence, or just bad data. If the AMA would apply the same ideals to alcohol that they apply to other areas of health, we could collaborate with them on finding solutions to our common challenges.
Hopefully, they’ll give Harris Interactive a call for their next study!
Cheers,
Guy
I think “studies” over the phone are inadequate. To really be able to truthfully judge whether people do or don’t drink as much as they say they do, would take months or even years of observation. It’s not that people intentionally mislead, but when you are asked (even by a anonymous voice), there’s still a part of you that wants this stranger to not know the complete truth.
What I drank when I was 21 compared to what I drink now, is completely different. Data is consistently manipulated by every source of media to “support” theories, opinions, etc. and I just don’t know what the point is.
Comment by Linh Trieu — July 6, 2006 @ 3:05 pm
As a person who has spent most of my 43 years trying to quit drinking, I would like to see someone other than the liquor industry judging the merits of studies on alcohol use. This site feels too much like an advertisement for drinking rather than an evenhanded attempt at “telling the truth”.
Cheers.
P.S. Fired 1 year ago as a result of my alcoholism. 3rd attempt at abstention and no drinks started 1 month ago.
Comment by Nunoff Yurbiz — July 6, 2006 @ 3:51 pm
Could you clarify what it was about the AMA survey that made it so bad? I can understand leading questions are out of the question, but the sample selection seemed alright. I really do not know how you could do a random phone survey of women in college unless you somehow were able to get the phone directories of all the colleges in the US, never mind that most would have cell phones and would be unlisted. An internet based survey would seem like the best way to target the college demographic. I guess it could have been worse if they conducted the survey at spring break locations, or would that be better? The methodology for the AMA survey is on their with the press release (http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/16083.html). If anything I would call the press into question on this, since they frequently demonstrate their commitment to publish what is ’sensational’ opposed to what is ‘complete’ or ‘accurate’. A few years ago, when I was on spring break in southern Texas, I can clearly remember an afternoon wet t-shirt contest on the beach that became an amateur full nude strip show by the end as the women one-upped each other to get more crowd response. Throughout the whole thing, the organizers were going around with handles of vodka, which they would pour directly into people’s mouths. I had a great time there and I feel that people should be free to do what they want and make their own decisions. I also would not be surprised to find out that some of those women, the next day, did not exactly feel proud about what they had done. Finally, to be clear, this was one event on one day during the week, not all the events everyday
Comment by Brian — July 7, 2006 @ 1:08 am
Thankfully this site discourages under-age drinking, but if there is alcohol in the house where children live I would say they are more likely to try it. Check this link to a story from 7/6/2006:
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=healthNews&storyID=2006-07-06T161940Z_01_COL658701_RTRUKOC_0_US-ALCOHOL-DEPENDENCE.xml&archived=False
Comment by Nunoff Yurbiz — July 7, 2006 @ 9:01 am
If you read the mantra coming from the AMA and the other activist groups like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Center for Science, etc. etc. — what solutions do they offer that will actually help the populous? Absolutely none. Nada. The reason these organizations are getting the airtime is that with the AMA trademark comes credibility. A group of doctors who supposedly know best.
You might think after reading these so-called “studies” that there was a nation-wide epidemic of 9-year-olds slugging down the booze. That’s not the case. It brings fear into people’s hearts and homes.
It’s interesting… these organizations actually mirror the right wing strategies of Karl Rove: Scare the hell out of people and then point the finger of blame. Look at what happened in Ohio in ‘04 when Rove and Co. turned the machine on to to elevate the gay marriage issue… it brought all those bible-thumping fools out to the polls to vote against it and then — while they were there — to pull the lever for George I-took-the-short-yellow-bus-to-school Bush who opined that national security was threatened by men who loved men…
But I digress.
Unfortunately, the AMA is more like an organization of culturally deprived underachievers — those “doctors” who never quite made it in medicine and have become addicted to the sound of their own voices.
For them, it is unfortunate, there is no cure.
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