Alcohol promos turn youngsters towards drink. (File photo)
Beijing, Jan. 4 (Xinhuanet)-- Teenagers who expose to alcohol advertising are likely to drink more, a US study said.
According to the study funded by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of America, approximately 20 percent of all alcoholic drinks are consumed by individuals below age 21.
Dr. Leslie B. Snyder, from the University of Connecticut in Storrs, and colleagues, interviewed 1872 subjects ages 15 to 26 years from 24 media markets up to four times between April 1999 and January 2001.
Results showed that for each extra advertisement that individuals saw, they had 1 percent more alcoholic drinks per month. The results were similar for underage drinkers.
Snyder said the findings contradicted claims that advertising was unrelated to youth drinking, that advertising at best caused brand switching, that it affected only those older than the legal drinking age, or that it was effectively countered by current educational efforts.
"Market advertising expenditures per capita were related to drinking levels and to growth in drinking over time," Snyder's group reports in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine for January.
"Alcohol advertising was a contributing factor to youth drinking quantities over time," she said.
Don Shenker of Alcohol Concern, the charity, said that the study showed a need for tougher action on alcohol adverts and promotions aimed at young people.
"Alcohol Concern is aware that the level of drinking among 11- to 15-year-olds has doubled in the past ten years," he said. "We urge the drinks industry not to advertise its products or sponsor programmes before the watershed, as the evidence shows that young people who drink are particularly susceptible to alcohol marketing." Enditem
(Agencies)
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