NEW STUDY LINKS ALCOHOL ADVERTISING WITH INCREASE IN UNDERAGE DRINKING

Statement by: Glynn Birch, National President, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)

The findings of the first-ever national longitudinal study on the influence of alcohol advertising on youth confirm what we’ve long suspected: a direct correlation between alcohol ads and underage drinking. The study by Dr. Leslie Snyder and four colleagues from the University of Connecticut and Colorado State University proves that alcohol ads are linked to increased drinking among youth.

The study specifically shows that for underage drinkers, exposure to more ads than the average for youth was correlated with a 1 percent increase in drinking per ad, and that an additional dollar spent per capita on alcohol advertising in a local market was correlated with a 3 percent increase in underage alcohol consumption as well.

Stricter alcohol advertising guidelines is an important solution to combat the underage drinking problem. MADD recommends that there should be at least a 90 percent adult (21 and older) viewing audience for alcohol ads that are broadcast on television. Currently, the industry has a standard of 70 percent adult audiences.

MADD is not against alcohol advertising, but it is imperative that stricter standards be put in place to protect our children from constant exposure to alcohol messages. The alcohol industry continues to target our youth and spend millions of dollars doing so. Alcohol is the No. 1 drug choice of American’s youth. Underage drinkers are responsible for between 10 and 20 percent of all alcohol consumed in the United States .

MADD is also calling for a national underage drinking prevention campaign targeted at adults, which is part of the Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking (STOP) Act (S. 408 and H.R. 864), borne out of the National Academies of Science (NAS) report. The campaign would help change the fact that parents tend to dramatically underestimate underage drinking generally and their own children’s drinking in particular. Research shows that not only does increased exposure to alcohol advertising relate to how young a person will begin drinking, but also that underage drinking prevention programming can help counteract this effect.

The alcohol industry cannot be, and should not be, the sole source of media messages on underage drinking. Congress decided that tobacco companies shouldn’t be the lone voice in educating our children on smoking prevention and we believe the same should hold true for the alcohol companies on underage drinking.

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To find the study, visit the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine at http://archpedi.ama-assn.org or www.camy.org.