Teens Drawn to Heavily Advertised Alcohol Brands: Study

Though ads are in compliance with law, researchers say findings suggest current regulations aren't enough.

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2014-07-09

The brands of alcohol favored by underage drinkers are the same ones that are heavily advertised in magazines read by young people, a new study reveals.

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The findings provide further evidence that alcohol ads can encourage young people to drink. They also show that the alcohol industry's voluntary advertising standards are inadequate, according to the study.

"All of the ads in our study were in complete compliance with the industry's self-regulatory guidelines," the researcher said.

Those voluntary standards say that alcohol ads should be restricted to magazines with fewer than 30 percent of readers who are younger than 21, according to the researchers.

The researchers looked at alcohol ads that ran in U.S. magazines in 2011, with a focus on ads for the top 25 alcohol brands consumed by underage drinkers. Those brands were advertised more heavily in magazines read by young people than 308 other alcohol brands that are less popular with underage drinkers, the investigators found.

Compared to the other brands, the most popular brands were five to nine times more likely to heavily expose 18- to 20-year-olds to their magazine ads, the findings showed.

"We can't speak to what advertisers' intentions are," expert said. "But we can say there is clear evidence that 18- to 20-year-olds are the most heavily exposed to these ads."

And, expert added, "That's concerning, because that age group is at high risk of alcohol abuse and negative consequences from drinking."

Parents need to be aware of this type of exposure and teach their children how to deal with it, expert advised.

Parents should take note that scientific evidence is growing that exposure to alcohol advertising promotes drinking initiation, and is likely to increase the frequency of consumption for kids already drinking.

Source: HealthDay News