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On any given night, millions of Americans enjoy adult beverages in our restaurants before driving home safely and responsibly. But this common and safe practice is coming under fire from anti-alcohol activists (as well as government bureaucrats frustrated by their inability to change the behavior of the real cause of the drunk driving problem-alcohol abusers). In fact, the federal government recently spent $11 million on a two-week advertising campaign to promote the prohibitionist message "You Drink & Drive. You Lose." Congress is considering appropriating $150 million more to run the campaign year round.

If left unchallenged, this assault on our customers will create a climate where having a drink with dinner will be grounds for harassment and possible arrest at roadblocks. To combat this attack on responsible consumption, ABI is promoting responsible consumption via a social norms approach.

"Social norms" programs have changed the alcohol abuse debate on college campuses. These programs show college students that most of their peers drink responsibly or not at all—and that alcohol abuse is the exception, not the norm. Social norms programs have repeatedly been shown to be more effective than the "doom and gloom" approach used by neo-prohibitionists.

But college students are not the only ones being barraged by these anti-alcohol messages. Our customers are targeted with roadblocks, multimillion-dollar public relations scare campaigns, and unceasing propaganda telling them that it is illegal to drink—no matter how responsibly—before driving.

It is imperative that we fight back against these neo-prohibitionist messages. ABI is countering this attempt to subvert the dining experience by alerting the public to these attempts and by using the social norms model to show the adults who dine in our restaurants that responsible consumption of adult beverages is the norm.