The alcoholic beverage industry's commitment to responsible drinking.

Statistics show that the vast majority of adults who drink do so safely and responsibly. To support this end, many alcoholic beverage companies participate in broad-based efforts to teach Americans - especially young Americans - about responsible drinking.

"As a brewer of many fine beers, we are committed to brewing and marketing in a responsible manner to a broad consumer group," says Ivan Burwell, community relations national program manager for Coors Brewing Co. "Focusing on education and prevention of abuse, we feel strongly that our products should be marketed and displayed as products of moderation," Burwell says.

Coors has an entire department devoted to alcohol awareness. Its programs include an advertising campaign featuring hard-hitting visuals and messages designed to curb drinking during the holiday season, discourage drunk driving and encourage parents to talk with their kids about alcohol.

Coors Manager of Alcohol Issues, Bart Alexander, contributes such columns as "Holiday Celebrations: Handle With Care" and "Safe Drinking - Best Defense For a Winning Football Season" to newspapers across the country.

Community involvement is also key to Coors' efforts. To get young drivers off to a good start, Coors instituted "Alcohol, Drugs, Driving and You" (ADDY) in 1983, a series of concise, straightforward materials developed to facilitate discussion among young people and adults. ADDY materials include:

* "Yes, You May Use the Car, But First..." a parent/teen discussion guide that reviews expectations, family rules and how to anticipate and prevent problems;

* It's Just Not Worth It," a step-by-step student guide for planning and conducting an assembly covering critical issues associated with drunk driving;

* "The ADDY Workbook," a three-session workbook designed for use by schools, churches, youth clubs and organizations interested in promoting healthy lifestyles for teens; and

* ADDY posters, which use colorful cartoon scenes to depict real-life situations and provide insight into the problems teens face with underage drinking.

Coors also develops merchandising items for distributors, such as buttons, stickers and key chains that carry responsible drinking messages and are made available to consumers at points of purchase. (Contact: Coors Alcoholic Issues Hotline, 800-328-6785.)

For more than 50 years, House of Seagram has run powerful advertising campaigns that promote a point of view instead of a product. From its Depression-era ad stating, "We Don't Want Bread Money," to its 1992 depiction of a wrecked car and the tagline, "It Had Every Safety Feature In the World. Except A Designated Driver," these special advertisements reflect the company's belief that society as a whole is best served by understanding the need for the responsible use of alcoholic beverages.

Says Carl Horton, vice president, group marketing director, White Goods Group, House of Seagram: "Seagram always has acknowledged a commitment to do more than produce quality products. We recognize that we are in a business unlike any other, and with that business comes a special obligation to encourage responsibility in the use of beverage alcohol."

House of Seagram recently kicked off its "Have You Talked Yet?" campaign on the heels of its "Talking About Alcohol" consumer handbook and audiocassette. "Have You Talked Yet?" (also a handbook and cassette) is designed to assist not only parents, but other adults who influence young people. Offering a culturally diverse perspective on problem-solving and other lifestyle issues, "Have You Talked Yet?" was developed in association with Prospect Associates. (For more information, call Chris Toffalli at Seagram, 212-572-1118.)

"Since the 1970's, Miller Brewing Co. has been doing its part to promote responsible drinking and reduce drunk driving, alcohol abuse and underage drinking," says Yvonne Lumsden-Dill, director, industry affairs for Miller Brewing. "As a company of almost 9,000 employees with families who have identical concerns as those in alcohol advocacy groups, we are interested in preventing misuse of our product," she says.

Miller features several alcohol education programs, including:

"Training for Intervention Procedures by Servers of Alcohol" (TIPS), a program that trains bartenders, waiters, waitresses and concession vendors to encourage responsible drinking and to recognize and handle problem situations;

* "Party Smart," a program of the Beer Drinkers of America, which educates consumers about safe and responsible drinking;

* "Alcohol Information from Miller" (AIM), which provides distributors of Miller products with educational tools and methods;

* "Guidelines for Beverage Alcohol Marketing on College/University Campuses," which was developed with the Inter-Association Task Force on Alcohol Issues and have been made company policy by Miller; and

* "The Responsible Event Plan," developed by Miller in 1986.

In addition, Miller's "Think When You Drink" slogan appears on all point-of-sales materials and all advertising messages to remind consumers to act responsibly. (Contact: Yvonne Lumsden-Dill at Miller Brewery, 800-MILLER6.)

The Stroh Brewery Co., Schieffelin & Somerset Co., Hiram Walker and House of Seagram are members of the Century Council, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to reducing alcohol abuse across the United States. Investigating, funding and implementing innovative approaches to address alcohol abuse, the Century Council builds alliances with other concerned organizations in the public and private sectors.

Founded in 1991, the Century Council is now supported by more than 700 concerned brewers, vintners, distillers and wholesalers to address drunken driving and underage drinking.

"The Stroh Brewery is proud to be a founding sponsor of the Century Council," says Michael C. Porter, vice president, marketing. "By going directly into the community, the Century Council can reach local groups that specifically address these concerns and support comprehensive, proven approaches that encourage and enforce responsible drinking." The Council's programs strive to bring together community and civic leaders, law enforcement officials, educators, insurers, healthcare professionals, private citizen organizations, the business community and licensed beverage industry producers, wholesalers and retailers in a unified effort to tackle alcohol abuse. (Contact Stroh's Brewery's Corporate Communications Department at 313-446-2000.)

Celebrating its bicentennial this year, Schieffelin & Somerset has established a tradition of responsibility on both the corporate and individual level. "Schieffelin & Somerset is a public relations- and advertising-driven company," says William Richardson, vice president, Schieffelin & Somerset Co. "We take the communications end of our business very seriously and are careful not to expose our brands to youth, and to position our products as products of moderation," Richardson says.

Taking guidelines from the Century Council Code of Responsible Marketing and Advertising Practices, Schieffelin & Somerset has developed a compliance document that employees and agencies doing business on behalf of the company must sign to ensure that all parties operate in a climate of awareness and accountability.

Additional Century Council programs include:

* The Century Cities Coalition, which melds the most effective elements from pre-existing local, regional and national efforts in community-based campaigns;

The "Front Lines" campaign, an ongoing series of distinctive programs involving licensed beverage retailers and the servers and clerks on the "front lines" with the consumer;

* A Hispanic program, "Si Toma, No Maneje ... if You Drink, Don't Drive," launched in 1989 to help reduce the number of drunken-driving incidents among California's Hispanic population;

* Partnerships with the United States Conference of Mayors, the National League of Cities and the National Commission Against Drunk Driving; and public service announcements featuring celebrities and athletes. (For further information, call Aura Reinhardt at Schieffelin & Somerset, 212-251-8277.)

"At Anheuser-Busch, we're proud to be the world's largest brewer. Beer can add to the enjoyment of life, when it is consumed as intended: responsibly and by adults," said Wayman Smith, the company's vice president of corporate affairs. "Drunk driving, illegal underage drinking and other forms of abuse are not only bad for our business, but issues we care about as parents and members of our communities as well. That's why we've invested more than $1 00 million over the last decade in preventing the misuse of our products," he added.

As early as the turn of the century, Anheuser-Busch promoted the importance of moderation. In 1983, with the launching of "Know When To Say When," the company began an aggressive campaign to promote personal responsibility among adults who choose to drink. Today, with nationwide team of independently owned wholesale distributors lead the industry in promoting alcohol awareness and education.

The foundation of these efforts is more than a dozen community-based alcohol awareness and education programs that translate the message of personal responsibility into action in the home, in schools and where alcohol beverages are served and sold.

Several programs, developed with authorities in youth counseling, education and abuse prevention, are designed to help prevent underage drinking, including guidebooks that help parents talk openly with their children about alcohol, family rules and respect for the law ... a middle-school curriculum for building refusal skills in adolescents ... high school lecture series on the consequences of underage drinking and drunk driving, and the importance of key life skills ... and financial support of some of the most prominent alcohol awareness and education efforts on college campuses today.

Since 1989, working with retail establishments across the country, Anheuser-Busch and its wholesalers have trained nearly 100,000 bartenders, waiters and store clerks in techniques for serving alcohol beverages responsibly; worked with some 20,000 groups to promote designated drivers; given over 110,000 free cab rides home to bar and restaurant patrons; and distributed hundreds of thousands of booklets and other materials that help retailers spot fake IDs.

Anheuser-Busch complements these programs with national TV, radio, print and outdoor advertisements that promote personal responsibility and our community-based alcohol awareness and education efforts. These paid commercials feature many well-known personalities and run on some of the most expensive, most watched programming available - a twofold strategy that has helped the company reach nearly 80% of beer drinkers with this important message.

"While there's certainly more to be done, awareness and education programs like these are making a real difference," said Smith. Anheuser-Busch and its wholesalers, he said, are proud to be working hand-in-hand with parents, teachers, law enforcement and groups nationwide to continue this program throughout the 1990s. (Contact: A-B Consumer Awareness & Education Department at 314-577-4656.)

Drinking alcoholic beverages is often associated with adult parties and celebrations, but the alcoholic beverage industry is concerned about health and safety issues as well. And so should you!