[Vision2020] Advertising Impact On Youth Alcohol Abuse

[Tbertruss at aol.com]

Phil et. al.

Phil wrote on 7/23/05

"In 1919 we tried to deal with a total prohibition which 
turned out to be less than desirable in its consequences.  Surely that 
suggests that even without advertizing from 1919-1933 the consumption of 
very illegal alcohol did not fall."

"Yes we have a problem that the people in Europe do not and its not related 
to how much beer and wine advertizing there is."

Ted replied on 7/24/05:

I don't want to go off on a discussion of tobacco abuse, but the current ban 
on tobacco advertising on television relates to what might be considered the 
possible benefits of also banning all alcohol advertising on television.

Do you think television advertising of tobacco products should be again 
allowed?  

If our society determined that the advertising of tobacco products in 
televised media resulted in too much damage to society to allow it to continue, I 
wonder why applying this same logic to the marketing of alcohol in televised 
media is so off the mark?

The alcohol companies, just as the tobacco companies, know that if someone 
does not develop the habits of using their drugs before they are in their 20s, 
that the adult use of these drugs drops off dramatically.   In other words, the 
customers must be snagged when they are young, or many will not become heavy 
users in adulthood who would have otherwise.
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Evidence to support the thesis that marketing alcohol to youth in the USA 
increases youth alcohol abuse, from the web site below:

http://camy.org/research/statelaws0403/

The concern about alcohol marketing and underage drinking has been heightened 
by recent findings in the scientific research community. Studies have 
established that alcohol advertising exposure influences a young person’s beliefs 
about alcohol and his/her intention to drink.3 They also suggest that advertising 
may have a direct impact on youth drinking practices and drinking problems.4 
These findings are bolstered by similar studies of tobacco advertising, which 
has been shown to influence the likelihood of young teenagers experimenting 
with tobacco.5 
    
In response to this concern, public health advocates are increasingly urging 
policymakers to consider counter-advertising campaigns. State public health 
departments in California, Massachusetts and Florida made critical strides in 
reducing underage smoking rates in their states in recent years by sponsoring 
tobacco counter-advertising campaigns.6 Research indicates that this approach 
should also be used as part of a comprehensive public health strategy to reduce 
underage drinking.7 

1Calculated from data from Competitive Media Reporting (CMR) and estimates 
made by the Federal Trade Commission in Self-Regulation in the Alcohol Industry: 
A Review of Industry Efforts to Avoid Promoting Alcohol to Underage Consumers 
(Washington, D.C.: FTC, 1999). 
3Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, Overexposed: Youth a Target of 
Alcohol Advertising in Magazines (Washington, D.C.: Center on Alcohol Marketing and 
Youth, 2002). See also Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, Television: 
Alcohol’s Vast Adland (Washington D.C.: Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth, 
2002), Available at . 
3J. W. Grube, "Television alcohol portrayals, alcohol advertising and alcohol 
expectancies among children and adolescents," in Effects of the Mass Media on 
the Use and Abuse of Alcohol, ed. S.E. Martin and P. Mail (Bethesda: National 
Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2002), 105-121. 
4J. Grube, "Alcohol advertising-a study of children and adolescents: 
preliminary results," (19 Nov. 2002); H. Saffer, "Alcohol advertising and motor 
vehicle fatalities," Review of Economics and Statistics, 79: 431-442. 
5See e.g. J. P. Pierce et al., "Tobacco industry promotion of cigarettes and 
adolescent smoking," Journal of the American Medical Association 279: 511-515 
(1998); L.G. Pucci and M. Siegel, "Exposure to brand-specific cigarette 
advertising in magazines and its impact on youth smoking," Preventive Medicine 29: 
313-320 (1999). 
6See e.g. M.C. Farrelly et al, "Getting to the Truth: Evaluating National 
Tobacco Countermarketing Campaigns," American Journal of Public Health 92 (6): 
901-907 (2002); L.K. Goldman and S. A. Glantz, "Evaluation of Antismoking 
Advertising Campaigns," Journal of the American Medical Association 279 (10): 
772-777 (1998). 
7H. Saffer, "Alcohol advertising and youth," Journal of Studies on Alcohol 
(Suppl. 14):173-181 (2002). 
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V2020 Post by Ted Moffett
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