Alcohol marketing influences adolescent binge drinking

Two-thirds of underage drinkers report having a favorite brand of alcohol, according to the results of a recent study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.  Hard alcohol brands were identified as favorites as often as beer.  "Brands preferred by youth tended to have high advertising expenditures, and choosing a favorite brand was associated with binge drinking." 

The article concludes, "The correlation between underage drinkers' brand preference and marketing expenditures suggests a marketing influence on choice of beverage. Moreover, higher rates of binge drinking among adolescents who named a favorite brand suggest that alcohol advertising campaigns may influence the likelihood that alcohol will be consumed at levels that pose a risk to health."

More about alcohol marketing and youth is available at the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth's website.

Juice box cocktails

What's the difference between these two beverages?

They both come in brightly colored aluminum pouches.

They both come with little straws.

They both contain (at least some) fruit juice.

But one of them is a "ready to drink cocktail". 

A comment posted on the Marin Institute's web page about this product states that selling alcohol in juice boxes is no different than selling beer in the same kind of cans in which soda-pop is sold.

And, the website about the cocktail says that the manufacturer "does not promote or encourage the use of alcoholic beverages; this alcoholic beverage is not intended for the consumption by minors. We are committed to advertising and promoting the brand in a responsible manner."

What do you think?  Is this another example of marketing alcohol to minors or is this beverage being marketed to adults who want the convenience and fun of drinking alcohol through a juice box straw?

Youth substance abuse prevention part of national strategy

As part of the federal Affordable Care Act (health care reform), the first ever National Prevention Strategy was recently released.  The Strategy's goal is to increase the number of Americans who are healthy at every stage of life.

One of the Strategy's priorities is preventing drug abuse and excessive alcohol use.  Preventing underage drinking is included.  Among its recommendations under this priority are:

-- the implementation and enforcement of alcohol control policies.  "States with more stringent alcohol control policies tend to have lower levels of binge drinking among adults and college students.  Evidence-based policies that decrease excessive alcohol use and related harms include those that prohibit the sale of alcohol to minors and intoxicated persons; reduce days and hours of sale; and limit the number of places that legally sell alcohol."

-- create environments that help young people avoid drugs and alcohol.  This includes reducing youth exposure to alcohol marketing. 

-- identify drug and alcohol problems early and provide intervention, referral, and treatment.

-- reduce inappropriate access to prescription drugs. 

Alcohol advertising & teen drinking

From a recent article published in Medscape Medical News:

Alcohol marketing is effective. Although profitable for the manufacturers, the detrimental results seen in American adolescents — who are not the target audience — are increased frequencies of drinking and binge drinking, which could be a prelude to alcohol-related behavioral and health problems in later life.

Meanwhile, according to an article in the Economist, "People in rich countries are not drinking enough beer. By volume, sales in 2010 fell by 1.5% in America and 2.3% in western Europe . . "  This means that the "big four" brewers will be increasing their marketing campaigns in an effort to revive beer sales.  "Their dream is to sell beer like premium-priced detergent," according to the article.

This news comes on the heals of a study about youth exposure to alcohol ads:
 
Youth exposure to alcohol advertising on U.S. television increased 71 percent between 2001 and 2009, more than the exposure of either adults ages 21 and above or young adults ages 21 to 34, according to an analysis from the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Alcohol industry's self regulation of marketing to youth to be studied

The Federal Trade Commission plans to begin a study of the self-regulatory efforts of the alcoholic beverage industry. This will serve as the basis for the FTC’s fourth major report on the effectiveness of voluntary industry guidelines for reducing advertising and marketing to underage audiences by beer, wine, and distilled spirits manufacturers.


In response, the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) released a statement that included:

The FTC last looked at this issue in 2008. Since then, CAMY has released several reports showing the inadequacy of the industry’s current threshold for placing advertising that reaches underage audiences. Our most recent TV report found that youth exposure to alcohol advertising in that medium actually increased faster than either young adult (ages 21 to 34) or adult exposure since the adoption of the industry’s current standard. While monitoring industry’s compliance with their advertising codes is welcome, the current standards do not protect young people from overexposure to alcohol advertising.

Free online learning opportunities

How can we keep kids drug-free? These free online learning opportunities highlight a few prevention strategies.

Raising Drug-Free Kids
December 2, 2010
On Demand
-- See why the teenage brain is not just an adult brain with fewer miles on it
-- Learn which tactics work best to keep kids away from drugs
-- Find out what has worked for other coalitions and how this may help you
-- See how you can help guide your kids to make better decisions
-- Find out what resources are out there to help coalitions reach parents

More information is available on the CADCA website.

Get in the Game! Webinar Series
Part 1: Alcohol Marketing and Youth - Why it's a problem and what you can do
December 14, 2010
10:00 a.m. - noon

Part 2: Untrain Your Brain - Tools to unravel alcohol advertising and Expectancies
December 16, 2010
10:00 a.m. - noon

More information is available on the Drug Free Action Alliance website.

Kids who wear alcohol-related gear drink more

Binge drinking and alcohol consumption in general is higher among adolescents who own alcohol-related t-shirts, hats, and other marketing items, according to researchers at Dartmouth college.

The lead researcher said, "You can't say any longer that these items are just a marker of kids who drink. It really underscores the importance for policies that restrict the scope of this marketing, so that these products aren't reaching teens and influencing drinking behaviors."

Read more here and at JoinTogether.

Beer & wine regulations and underage drinking

An article appearing in today's Seattle Post-Intelligencer provides information about suggested possible changes to beer and wine regulations in Washington.

What the article does not discuss is how beer and wine regulations affect underage drinking. The "prevention community" in Washington is particularly concerned about:

1) Pricing: Studies show that higher prices result in lower consumption and underage drinkers are especially susceptible to price. The use of minimum mark-ups and the ban on quantity discounts are two key environmental strategies for preventing underage drinking.

2) Money's Worth: Money's worth (promotional) items should be considered advertising and marketing items and should be governed by stricter advertising and marketing regulations. Too often, these items appeal to children and youth and should not be present or given out in areas (such as restaurants) where children and youth are present. This contributes to underage drinking.

3) Internet Sales/Shipping Alcohol Products: Any shipping of alcohol directly to consumers needs to be strictly controlled to ensure minors do not have access to alcohol this way.