There's a Message in Every Bottle (1968)

that it's like a bad dream I still can't believe it my driver's license taken away and had to sell my car and now I've got a police record all for what a couple of drinks and trying to be a big man if only I'd known what I was getting into [Music] PA a [Music] about the time the caveman discovered fire he also discovered fire water alcoholic beverages beer Wine Liquor yes they've been around quite a while they've caught on and they're here to stay they're easy to come by for anyone at old or teenager and because of these facts teenagers face one of the most important decisions of their lives should they wait until they are legally old enough to drink or to beat the law sure there are two sides to everything even alcoholic beverages let's start with how alcohol affects your body because alcoholic beverages are made from fruits and Grains they are in a true sense food but because they contain no vitamins or minerals and are extremely high in Cal calories they are one of the poorest forms of food and yet millions of adults will have one or more drinks today and experience no physical harm whatsoever some doctors believe alcoholic beverages are the safest tranquilizers readily available to man that they calm nerves stimulate the appetite make and laughter come free and easy eight out of 10 adults drink alcoholic beverages for these reasons and most of these adults the Smart Ones anyway respect alcohol just as they do a sharp knife or a loaded rifle they handle it carefully gently and this means moderately even so one out of five of today's adults don't touch it at all and they are happy and successful perhaps you drink whenever you feel like it you always feel great physically and mentally don't fool yourself alcohol has its bad side it can do plenty of harm if used excessively or illegally like narcotics cigarettes or even candy alcohol can be used to the degree that it becomes habit forming and the grip with which it holds its victims is extremely difficult to break as a result 5% of the adult drinkers are alcoholic dependents and must drink to get through the day [Music] of course not everyone who drinks will become an alcoholic but unless you today's teenager know what alcohol is and what it can do one in 15 of you may become an alcoholic there's only one thing worse if some night you're foolish enough to Wolf down an excessive amount of alcohol all at once suddenly inject too much alcohol into your bloodstream then there will be no tomorrow and not much of today everything will stop for [Music] good but how about just a couple of drinks what happens how will they affect you after entering your stomach a small amount of alcohol passes through the stomach walls and into the blood bloodstream the blood carries it along to your liver which oxidizes it the liver can safely handle about half an ounce of alcohol at enough but if you drink more than your liver can handle some of the alcohol will pass through unoxidized and is pumped to the brain from bottle to brain takes only a minute or so and then it starts [Music] there's a warming sensation and your first impression is that you are physically stimulated and you are but just for a minute the minute it takes for the alcohol to reach your brain then the opposite is true the anesthetic begins to work the alcohol acts like an anesthetic or depressant like ether or chloroform the only difference is that alcohol is slower [Music] it slows your reflexes at the same time it begins working on your physical senses numbing the parts of the brain that control Vision coordination speech Yes excessive alcohol can turn your reflexes and coordination to molasses every part of your body is affected well that's the bad side of of course but that's not all in fact it's just the beginning [Music] where should I put these being such a great time today I hate to see it all in yeah do we have to go home yes Chief anybody got any good ideas hey I got it why don't we go to tappers marvelous idea my good man I do believe it's cocktail time lots of luck I hear the hard who runs a place will check your age even for a glass of water and you better be the legal age or else what a jerk he really has it in for teenagers the old grouch well in that case we have to use my secret weapon which I stole from her sister and my brother were mely fored by [Music] me and you Ron babe are 22 what am I going to do about these just keep your big mou shut [Music] now be sure to memorize the names on your ID cards and the addresses and telephone numbers if you can't rattle them off the bartender will know you're trying to pull something hey isn't it against the law to use false identification to buy a drink are you kidding Ron you're breaking the law if you just order a drink before you're the legal age using false ID just brings the axe down a little harder that's not all if you kind of bartender into selling you a drink before you're old enough the law boils him alive [Music] [Music] [Music] sounds wild doesn't it we lie give him false identification get him to break the law and what does the law do rake him over the coal being a teenager sure does have its advantages hey look let's just order a cook and a sandwich I don't want to get anyone in trouble and I don't particularly like the idea of going to jail either hey man don't worry about it no one ever gets caught and no one's ever going to get hurt that's right nothing's going to happen we wouldn't hurt anyone get ready here she comes good evening did you car with see menu no menu just cocktails I'll have to check your age here well we're all 21 that's right here take a look I have my driver you look awfully young to have been in the Marines yeah I guess I do let me tell you some War Stories no stories just prove that you're old enough you've got it we're not trying to pull anything what more can we show you it's a truth no kidding okay may have your order please I'd like a Tom Collins please I'll have an oldfashioned bardi Roman Coke please all right I don't believe it I didn't think we can do it either [Music] [Applause] besides affecting you physically alcohol affects you psychologically it numbs the parts of your brain which control your judgment and inhibitions it weakens the control that your better judgment has over your actions many times just the desire for alcohol warps your judgment because you have to lie to get it if there's a good side to the effects of alcohol upon your psychological makeup your judgment and behavior it might be the experience of visiting the world of unreality alcohol makes you feel good you say like a king as if you're on top of the world your way out your fears vanish nobody can touch you nothing can bother you found the perfect escap [Music] [Laughter] get by your window [Music] [Applause] maybe alcohol makes you feel grown up sophisticated everyone notices you and this makes you feel important no longer shy or alone you're the life of the party and everyone loves and admires [Music] you all night [Music] perhaps when you drink you become confident afraid of nothing you can handle any situation nothing is too big for you to tackle and win and you want the the whole world to know it [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] am I right let teenagers make their own laws yeah right parents should always be [Applause] obeyed there's only one problem none of it is true none of it is real nothing will change everything will stay just as it is the alcohol just distorts your thinking and when the alcohol wears off everything will be as it was when you drink illegally you are merely showing your instability your immaturity that your character is weak that you lack [Music] self-control that you want to escape from reality and you use alcohol as a mask to hide from the world around you or you're not strong enough to stand up to Everyday problems so you use alcohol to give you courage use it as a crutch to lean on you are showing the world that you can't shoulder the responsibilities of Youth making it obvious that you'll certainly not be able to Bear the much heavier responsibilities of adulthood that you're a loser before you even get to the starting line adulthood what's so magical about 21 nothing but it is the legal dividing line between Youth and adulthood the best Minds in the nation men and women who once were young themselves have learned through trial and error that 21 is the best age at which to draw the line so they ask you to wait until you are that old before you decide what you wish to do about alcoholic beverages smart people do not take chances when the odds are heavily against them just for a drink before they reach legal age but some people don't play it smart they drink illegally then they break another law driving while under the influence of alcohol and there is no good side to [Music] this you've heard that alcohol and driving don't mix well they do like dynamite and fire but the same results it takes only three or four drinks to read the best driver's performance by 20 to 30% any driver teenager or adult who has two drinks is three times more likely to have an accident than one who has no drinks physically alcohol DOL your reflexes though your reaction time may be slowed only a fraction of a second this is more than enough time to make you accident prone at just 30 m hour your car travels 44 ft in 1 second but you don't worry about this when drinking excessively because alcohol takes over the part of your brain which regulates your common sense as little as 3100s of 1% of alcohol in your blood gives you this false sense of confidence last year 2,000 persons were killed by teenagers who had a steering wheel in their hands and an excessive amount of alcohol in their stomachs and many teenagers paid the penalty for driving while under the influence of alcohol [Music] extend your arms sir shoulder height close your eyes tilt your head back with the index finger I specifi touch the tip of your nose with the left finger with your right finger okay you may drop your hands sit down now sir I want you to put this mouthpiece in your mouth and blow at least 5 to 10 seconds we need a sample of the deep lung air in order to get an accurate test [Music] it isn't much of a job to find out where you'd been drinking as the result of selling alcoholic beverages to miners even though you presented evidence that you were old enough to drink the liquor license of the business is revoked and a sizable fine is levied against the owner under such a financial burden the owner in many cases is forced out of business his employees must find new jobs what we do about I'll get out the store and see if I cancel it [Music] now the bar is closed we'll have to cut back on our spendings a hard knows who runs a place checks your age what a jerk but worst of all we won't be able to send Jean back to school in the fall he has it in for teenagers the old grouch I'll go see Charles this afternoon he might know of a bartender's job that's open doesn't seem fair does it [Music] no person under the legal aid shall harder pay for share the cost [Music] of that's not the penalty for buying alcoholic beverages before being of legal age is just as severe possessing it is a crime and subject to a stiff fine and imprisonment and just as importantly it is the start of a police record which stays with and haunts the violators the rest of their lives colleges are already [Music] crowded will you finally step forward [Music] please what do you think a police record will add to their chances of admittance employers are sure check a job applicants background they can afford to be choosy an employment with the government almost always demands an unblemished background acceptance and promotions in the armed services are based on a clean record alcohol has a good side and a bad side trying to beat the law isn't smart prisons and reformatories are full of men and women who have tried and [Music] fail remember the message in every bottle is your particular State's laws about drinking every state has them including a minimum age you must be to legally drink alcoholic beverages and for anyone who breaks these laws every state has severe penalties fines imprisonment loss of driver's license any or all of these know your State's drinking laws you've seen both sides of illegal drinking now is the time for you to make your decision a [Music]