Attitudes toward drinking conveyed in studio greeting cards.

Analysis of 129 studio cards containing alcohol-related subject matter revealed themes which suggest that getting drunk is a natural and desirable concomitant of celebrations and that drunkenness is humorous, enjoyable, and harmless. It is proposed that the depiction of intoxication in these cards as pleasurable and risk-free may legitimate and reinforce tolerant attitudes toward alcohol abuse and thereby contribute to their entrenchment and pervasiveness in the face of recent public education prevention campaigns.