October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Many food and beverage companies are showing their support by donating portions of their October proceeds to breast cancer research and prevention charities, among which are some alcohol makers.
Many see alcohol companies’ support of breast cancer research and prevention as hypocritical and criticize such actions as inappropriate marketing strategies.
In her recent post on The Atlantic, professor and author Marion Nestle compares alcohol makers donating to breast cancer causes to cigarette companies paying for lung cancer research. Nestle reminds readers that alcohol is a cause of breast cancer and can also increase the cancer’s recurrence.
Executive director of Breast Cancer Action, Barbara Brenner, tells USA Today, “Anybody trying to sell alcohol to promote breast cancer awareness should be ashamed of themselves.”
Unfortunately for Nestle and Brenner, neither “shame” nor “hypocrisy” has stopped a companies in a capitalist America from profit making – not only are alcohol companies continuing their “Pink Campaigns”, breast cancer charities are accepting their donations. Is it not a double standard to criticize the alcohol companies’ donations but not the charities’ acceptance?
I don’t see the issue with alcohol companies donating for breast cancer causes; it is a win-win situation for both sides.
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