Liquor ads influence child drinking habits: study

Liquor ads influence child drinking habits: study

	Published : Tue, 03 Jan 2006 17:05 By : Cedric Benson Print this Story

NEW YORK: Alcohol-related advertisements constitute an important factor that act as inducement to youngsters to take to drinking, a U.S. study has concluded.

The study, funded by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, questions the claim by alcohol manufacturers that advertising does not necessarily influence the amount of liquor a youngster drinks, but just encourages him to switch brands.

On the contrary, says the study, carried out by scientists at the University of Connecticut and involved questioning 4,000 Americans in the 15-26 age group about their drinking habits, each additional alcohol advertisement seen each month was associated with a 1 per cent increase in the average number of drinks consumed.

Dr Leslie B. Snyder, who led the study, said: “The results . . . contradict claims that advertising is unrelated to youth drinking amounts, that advertising at best causes brand switching, only affects those older than the legal drinking age, or is effectively countered by current educational efforts.

“Alcohol advertising was a contributing factor to youth drinking quantities over time.”

The details of the study have been published in the journal Archives of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

Another interesting aspect that came out was that the increased spending in alcohol advertising in individual states is directly linked to local young people spending more of their money on drinks.

The study found that approximately 20 per cent of all alcoholic drinks are consumed by individuals below age 21. Underage drinkers tend to imbibe more heavily than adults and are involved in twice as many fatal car crashes while driving.

The team wrote: "Market advertising expenditures per capita were related to drinking levels and to growth in drinking over time.

"For each additional dollar per capita spent on advertising, individuals consumed 3 per cent more alcoholic beverages per month. Young people were more likely to drink more over time in areas with more alcohol advertising."

In an editorial related to the article, Dr David Jernigan, from the Georgetown University in Washington DC, said all these findings point to alcohol advertising as an important arena for interventions seeking to reduce underage drinking and its tragic consequences. He suggested that if alcohol companies could reduce the number of ads young people see, "they would make a substantial contribution to reducing underage drinking."

However, the findings have limited relevance to Britain, according to industry experts. The Portman Group, an industry-sponsored body that promotes responsible drinking, said alcohol advertising in Britain is subject to very strict regulation to ensure it does not appeal to under-18s.

But, Britain has one of the highest youth drinking rates in Europe -- nearly 20 per cent of those in the 11-15 age group are known to consume liquor once in a week.