Never Enough: The Neuroscience and Experience of Addiction

by Judith Grisel

A further increase in drinking is actually good for some. Worldwide annual revenue from alcohol sales is about $150 billion. Diageo and Anheuser-Busch InBev are two of the leading global producers and have net profit margins of around 25 percent as they invest more in marketing than they do in payroll. In its 2013 annual report, Anheuser-Busch InBev articulated its goal to “create new occasions to share our products with consumers.” This seems funny, because it obviously isn’t creating the occasion, but rather the excuse to use an occasion for drinking. These businesses are well aware of psychological learning principles as they work to associate contexts with alcohol, noting that “insights have enabled us to create and position products for specific moments of consumption: enjoying a game or music event with friends, shifting toward a more relaxed mood after work, celebrating at a party or sharing a meal.” Along similar lines, in 2014 the British Beer Alliance, a consortium of major British brewers, invested £10 million in the marketing campaign “There’s a Beer for That,” aiming to showcase “the variety of beer available in the UK and how these different styles fit perfectly a wide range of occasions.”