Speech: Nice Examples ...

Just a nice example of a good lede, and thorough attribution, and a liberal sprinkling of facts and quotes, all of which are attributed.

Halloween used to be about costumes and candy, but kids are now being tricked to associate the holiday with a new treat — alcohol.

            Yesterday, Surgeon General Tom Izzo spoke at a PTA convention in East Lansing about how alcohol has bombarded Halloween.

            “Halloween and hops do not mix,” Izzo said.

            Izzo said the wide acceptance of alcohol could be part of the reasoning behind why young people drink.

            Izzo said according to the National Coalition on Television Violence, the average American child sees 75,000 drinking scenes on television before the age of 18.

            “Alcohol is the number one substance abuse problem among America’s youth,” Izzo said. “In fact, it is the only drug whose use has not been declining, according to our most recent National High School Senior Survey.”

            Izzo said according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, currently 4.6 million teens have a drinking problem.

            Izzo said alcohol affects most organs, and can be contributed to diseases such as hypertension and cancer of the esophagus.

            “Let us not make this year the year they robbed the kids of Halloween,” Izzo said. “For their sake and our own, let us keep Halloween sane, safe — and sober.”

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We have this one, too:

Surgeon General Tom Izzo is concerned that witches and ghouls aren’t the only things to be afraid of this year.

                  According to Izzo, who talked at a statewide PTA meeting in East Lansing last night, alcohol advertisers are targeting Halloween as a marketing strategy, which could end up affecting the nation’s youth.

                  “Alcohol is the number one substance abuse problem among America’s youth,” Izzo said. “In fact, it is the only drug whose use has not been declining, according to our most recent National High School Senior Survey.”

                  The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports that 4.6 million teenagers have a drinking problem, Izzo said.

Izzo said the “availability of alcohol and its acceptance, even glamorization, in our society” are contributing factors to the amount of American youth that drink.

“The National Coalition on Television Violence reports that before turning 18, the average American child will see 75,000 drinking scenes on television programs alone,” Izzo said.

Izzo said he was worried that this glamorization, coupled with alcohol advertisers promoting Halloween as a day to celebrate their products, could lead to disaster.

“Beer companies offer free Halloween T-shirts, bat sunglasses and glowing cups. Halloween parties sponsored by a major brewer are being held in nearly 40 cities,” Izzo said. 

“What I say is scary is the possibility of increased carnage on our highways, the real specter of more binge drinking by our young people,” Izzo said.

Izzo said that last year, over 3,150 young people died in alcohol-related crashes.

Izzo said he is also afraid of the advertisers that are seemingly promoting binge drinking.

 “Forty-three percent of college students, 35 percent of our high school seniors and 26 percent of eighth-grade students have had five or more drinks in a row during the past two weeks,” Izzo said.

“Some of these Halloween ads encourage the purchase of 12 or 24 packs of beer, and who will drink all that beer?” Izzo said.

Izzo said that alcohol is an “equal opportunity destroyer” or every organ in the body, and that it was up to the parents to help make sure that Halloween stays “sane, safe – and sober.”