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drunk driving--or, more accurately now,

right ban. In a concurring opinion, Justice

drinking and driving. Since the early 1980s,

Clarence Thomas went even further. Thomas

organizations such as Mothers Against

wrote that Rhode Island's "asserted interest

Drunk Driving have waged aggressive, high-

is to keep legal users of a product or service

profile, ubiquitous campaigns to raise public

ignorant in order to manipulate their choices

awareness of a formidable threat to public

in the marketplace," and that in such cases

safety that far too few people take seriously.

"such an `interest' is per se illegitimate and

The campaign was enormously successful.

can no more justify regulation of `commer-

Alcohol-related traffic deaths have dropped

cial' speech than it can justify regulation of

`noncommercial' speech.84

by 40 percent since 1982,87 even as non-alco-

hol-related traffic fatalities have increased by

Most recently, in April 2003 the U.S. Court

39 percent.88 The total number of victims of

of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit struck down a

Cleveland city ordinance that banned alcohol

drunk drivers has stabilized since the mid-

1990s.89 The percentage of drivers who had

billboard advertisements in residential areas

and limited them to a few designated districts

blood alcohol levels above the legal limit

within the city.85 However the courts come

dropped from 27 percent in 1991 to 21 per-

cent in 2001.90 Among underage drivers--

down on the constitutionality of bans on alco-

Sandy Golden,

hol advertising, civil libertarians ought to be

often cited by temperance advocates as a rea-

a spokesperson

disturbed by the latest efforts to curb a legal

son to restrict access to alcohol--there was a

industry's efforts to promote its product. The

similar decrease. The number of drivers

for the Campaign

most prominent advocates of billboard bans

involved in fatal accidents who were intoxi-

for Alcohol-Free

and restrictions on alcohol advertising on TV

cated dropped by 24 percent between 1991

and 2001.91

Kids, has said,

and radio and at sporting events have made no

secret of their intent to follow the example set

In short, attitudes have changed. Today's

"We're 10 to 15

by similar bans on tobacco products. Sandy

drunk driver is a pariah. It is no longer socially

years behind the

Golden, a spokesperson for the Campaign for

acceptable to stagger out from a pub and slip

Alcohol-Free Kids, has said, "We're 10 to 15

behind the wheel. Chuck Hurley, a spokesman

tobacco people,

years behind the tobacco people, and we want

for the National Safety Council--which advo-

and we want to

to close the gap."86

cates tougher drinking and driving laws--has

close the gap."

said: "We've already deterred virtually all of the

Rhode Island's defense of its ban on alco-

social drinkers. We're now down to the hard

hol advertising could not have been more

core of people who drink and drive in spite of

clear. The aim of measures enacted to limit the

public scorn."92 Former MADD president

scope and reach of alcohol advertising is, sim-

ply, to depress the consumption of alcohol. In

Katherine Prescott agreed, telling the New York

a free society, politicians should not concern

Times that the problem "has been reduced to a

themselves with the diets of their constituents.

hard core of alcoholics who do not respond to

public appeal."93 Unfortunately, those conclu-

At most, the surgeon general might issue a

report to prove that orange juice improves

sions seem to run counter to the policies being

health but that, say, chewing gum is detrimen-

pushed by Hurley and Prescott's organizations,

tal to health. Ultimately, however, Americans

as well as the other key players in the temper-

ought to make up their own minds about

ance movement. And, increasingly, those poli-

what they eat and drink, without the social

cies are finding warm receptions in state legis-

engineering schemes of politicians.

latures.

In 2002 and 2003 alone, more than 100

new pieces of legislation further restricting

Police Powers

already stringent drinking and driving para-

meters were introduced in 31 different

states.94 Some of those laws were reasonable,

Perhaps the boldest front on which the

neoprohibition effort has been moving is

of course--increasing fines for repeat offend-

9