A new advertisement from Johnnie Walker Black Label Scotch focuses on an old, well-used baseball that lies amid shattered glass from a recently broken window. The caption reads: "Thank Dad for being more proud than angry." Below the caption is the Black Label bottle.The source of Dad's pride is left to the viewer's interpretation. Is Dad proud that his child has just broken a window with a baseball? Or is Dad proud that his child is following Dad's lead in drinking Black Label Scotch?
For years it has been common advertising practice to make excess drinking appear normal. The logic here is if you normalize heavy drinking, people will be less likely to question their own drinking behavior. However, heavy drinking is not the norm. Overall alcohol consumption is such that if 10 people sit around a table with 10 alcoholic beverages on it,
Eleven percent of the population consumes two thirds of all the alcohol sold in this country. If you normalize the heavy drinker, you will sell more alcohol. The fact that 30 percent of the population is perfectly content to live their lives without alcohol is not the concern of alcohol advertisers.
- one person will drink seven of the drinks;
- three people will share two of the drinks;
- three people will share one drink; and
- three people will drink nothing.
Recently, however, it seems advertisers are not satisfied with just normalizing the heavy drinker. They have moved on to the fertile ground of targeting children of alcoholics. Another advertisement by Drambuie Liqueur portrays a father dressed up as Santa Claus and collapsed in a chair on Christmas eve. The caption reads: "Oh, no! I'm becoming my Father!" At the top of the next page it continues: "Relax and enjoy. It happens to the best of us. Inevitably, no matter how much we struggle, in one way or another, one day we become our parents." And the bottom line reads, "Your time has come." Are advertisers seeking to target the offspring of alcoholics?
Biological children of alcoholics are four times more likely to become alcoholics than children of non-alcoholics. Left uneducated about this risk, children of alcoholics are at an increased risk for becoming heavy users of the product that alcohol advertisers want to sell. Many children of alcoholics adamantly proclaim that it will "never happen" to them. Yet due to the combination of the genetic risk and the lack of education about clear research based on low risk guidelines for the quantity and frequency of alcohol use, generation after generation, children of alcoholics have followed in their parents' footsteps.
All of us have some risk for the disease of alcoholism. To date in our culture, we have yet to educate the majority of people on how to decrease their risk for this disease.
Whether you are the child of an alcoholic or not, you might want to consider some options instead of simply following the encouragements of alcohol advertisers. First, become knowledgeable about this disease. No one begins drinking with the intent of becoming an alcoholic. Education is your best defense.
Every year more than 3,000 men find they have testicular cancer. If this statistic doesn't seem to have much relevance to you, think about this: Most cases of testicular cancer occur between the ages of 20 and 34 and account for 20 percent of the cancer found in all white males of this age group. White males are affected 4.5 times more frequently than black males.Recently, testicular cancer has had mass media attention because a member of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team, John Kruk, was diagnosed with it. Lucky for John, his disease was discovered in the early stage when it is more easily treatable. That's the good news about testicular cancer. When diagnosed early, it has a cure rate approaching 100 percent.
Who is considered at risk?
White males: As mentioned above, white males are 4.5 times more likely to have testicular cancer than black males.
Undescended testicle: Men who have an undescended or partially descended testicle are at a much higher risk of developing testicular cancer than others. However, there is a simple surgical procedure to correct this condition. See your health care practitioner if this applies to you.
Inguinal hernia: Another risk factor for testicular cancer is inguinal hernia, which frequently exists with an undescended testicle.
What are the symptoms?
The first sign may be slight enlargement of one of the testicles, with a change in its consistency. There may be a dull, aching or heavy sensation in the lower abdomen and groin. Often, in the early stages, there are no symptoms.
What can I do?
Since it is so important to catch this cancer in its early stages, a monthly self-examination is the best way to assure its detection. Testicular self-examination is especially important if you are between the ages of 15 and 35 or if one or both of your testicles were late in descending into the scrotum (after age 1). Also, be sure your health practitioner includes a thorough examination of your testicles as part of your regular checkups.
How to perform testicular self-examination?
The best time to examine your testicles is during or after a hot bath or shower. The heat causes the testicles to descend and relaxes the scrotum. This makes it easier to find any abnormalities. Follow these simple instructions recommended by the American Cancer Society:
- Examine each testicle with the fingers of both hands, placing your index and middle fingers on the underside of the testicle and your thumbs on top of the testicle.
- Gently but firmly roll the testicle between the thumbs and fingers.
- Do not mistake the epididymis for an abnormality. This soft, tubelike structure is found at the back of the testicle and connects to the vas deferens, which is the tube that carries sperm up to the prostate gland and into the urethra during ejaculation. You can feel the vas deferens and blood vessels above the epididymis.
- If you notice a lump or any other abnormality, report it to your health practitioner right away. Most lumps are found on the sides of the testicles, but some appear on the front.
- To help you remember to do the examination monthly, try to schedule it in association with a regular event or on a special date. For instance, you might decide to do the examination whenever the telephone bill comes or on the first day of every month. If necessary, make a note on your calendar as another reminder.
Page maintained by DSA/ES webmaster. Updated 08/27/2004 .