In the UK in the early 1990s, the rave culture was making incursions into licensed venues and young people were abandoning alcohol in favour of the “party drug” known as Ecstasy.
In short, the UK alcohol market was shrinking.
What was a poor but mega-rich alcohol industry to do?
Ecstasy had certain advantages over alcohol. It was more social and was not associated with violence. And unlike alcohol, it did not impair judgement.
But it also had disadvantages. Its market was dominantly young people in their early twenties, which was to prove easy prey for the alcohol industry. 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine, or MDMA, the main active ingredient in Ecstasy, had been illegal in the UK since 1977. Although deaths were extremely rare, careless use could lead to anxiety and panic attacks, and a trip to the emergency department. MDMA increased core body temperature and hot environments coupled with excessive physical activity such as dancing, significantly increased the risk of hypothermia, the main cause of Ecstasy-related deaths.
MDMA also caused the brain to release large amounts of serotonin, a chemical important in the regulation of mood. Not allowing serotonin levels sufficient time to recover would lead to depression and even suicidal thoughts. All this meant that unlike alcohol in order to maximise benefit over risk Ecstasy was something that could only be used occasionally, allowing enough time between sessions for serotonin levels to return to normal.
The British tabloids were also openly hostile, salaciously reporting every death where MDMA was present even if death would still have occurred if MDMA had not been present and if the deceased happened to be young and female all the better.
Despite the extremely negative media, Ecstasy continued to make inroads into the alcohol market. The alcohol industry needed a product it could target directly at young people, one they could market as just as social and also as a legal and “risk-free” alternative to Ecstasy.
Enter the alcopop, designed to appeal to youth consumers in a nighttime environment. At the same time the alcohol industry was able to change its marketing strategy, describing the effects of alcoholic drinks as similar to the psychoactive effects of party drugs like Ecstasy.
Of course all this wasn’t enough for the alcohol industry. As MDMA was illegal the alcohol industry was able to successfully lobby the government to curtail raves and such places and events where Ecstasy was commonly consumed.
The fact that alcopops were directly marketed at youth did provoke a backlash but of course the damage had already been done. Today alcohol dominates the UK night-time economy and with it a culture of binge drinking.
