Alcohol Advertising and Youth


            Research shows that there are several contributors that increase underage drinking – with youth-oriented alcohol
            advertising among the top contributors. The alcohol industry is quick to deny that their ads are specifically aimed
            at young people, but results of recent studies on alcohol advertising tell a very different story:

            • A national study published in January 2006 concluded that greater exposure to alcohol advertising contributes
              to an increase in drinking among underage youth.

            • For each additional ad a young person saw (above the monthly youth average of 23), he or she drank 1% more.

            • A Dartmouth Medical School study found that there were depictions of alcohol use in 92% of 601 contemporary
              movies, including 52% of G-rated films.

            • Underage youth are drawn to music, animal and people characters, story and humor in alcohol advertising.

            • Teens say ads have a greater influence on their desire to drink in general than on their desire to buy a
              particular brand of alcohol.

            • From 2001 through 2003, youth in the U.S. were 96 times more likely per capita to see an ad promoting
              alcohol than an industry ad discouraging underage drinking.

            • Between 2001 and 2005, youth exposure to alcohol advertising on television in the U.S. increased
              by 41%.

            • Underage youth saw 48% more magazine advertising for beer and ale than legal-aged adults
              in 2003.

            • Of radio advertising for the 25 leading alcohol brands in 2004, more than two-thirds of youth
              exposure to alcohol advertising came from ads placed on youth-oriented programming.

            • Researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health compared alcohol advertising in
              118 magazines from 2002 to 2006, and found that magazines with the highest level of young
              readers were four times more likely to advertise alcoholic beverages that are popular among
              young drinkers, such as low-calorie beer, rum, vodka and flavored alcohol beverages, as
              opposed to more adult-preferred drinks such as gin, brandy, whiskey or scotch.



            Source:
            The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth