Girls More Targeted by Magazine Ads for Alcohol

In 2002, underage youth saw more alcohol advertising than adults in magazines, and underage girls were even more exposed to this advertising than boys, according to a study in the July 2004 issue of The Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

In 2002, alcohol companies in the U.S. spent $1.9 billion on magazines, newspaper, television, radio, and outdoor advertisements, 21.1 percent of which was used in magazines advertising, according to the JAMA article.

David H. Jernigan, Ph.D., of Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., and colleagues studied adolescent girls' and boys' (ages 12 to 20 years) exposure to alcohol advertising in magazines compared to alcohol ad exposure for men and women (ages 21 to 34, and 21 years and older).

They examined readership data from 2001 and 2002 for 103 national magazines. During that time period, 6,239 alcohol advertisements appeared in those publications. The advertisements were divided according to alcohol type: beer and ales, distilled spirits, low-alcohol refreshers (LARs, i.e. sweet-flavored alcoholic beverages, alcopops, alcoholic lemonades), and wine.

According to the published report, the researchers found that:

• In 2002 underage youth (12 to 20 years of age) in the U.S. saw 45 percent more beer and ale advertising; 12 percent more distilled spirits advertising; 65 percent more low-alcohol refresher advertising; and 69 percent less advertising for wine than men and women of legal drinking age.

• From 2001 to 2002, both girls' and boys' exposure to alcohol advertisements decreased in every alcohol category except low-alcohol refresher advertisements, which increased by 216 percent and 46 percent respectively.

• For underage boys, 13 brands (11 distilled spirits and two beers) accounted for half of their alcohol advertising exposure.

• For underage girls, 16 brands of alcohol (14 distilled spirits, one beer, and one low-alcohol refresher) accounted for half of the advertising exposure.

"In the context of youth generally being more likely per capita than the legal-age audience to see magazine advertising for beer and ale, distilled spirits, and low-alcohol refreshers, perhaps the most striking finding of our analysis is the level or overexposure experienced by girls," the authors said. "Exposure of underage girls to alcohol advertising is substantial and increasing, pointing to the failure of industry self-regulation and the need for further action."

Source: The study was published in the July 2004 issue of The Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.