Alcohol Commercials Affect Teen Drinking Rates

 Posted on August 07, 2014 in DUI

Teens, who are exposed to brand-specific alcohol advertising on television, are much more likely to drink. Those who already drink illegally are likely to drink even more, when they view such commercials. Those are the results of a new study that was released by researchers at the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health recently.

The researchers were specifically looking at whether brand-specific alcohol ads that air during television shows specifically increase consumption of these brands. They found that there was definitely an association between exposure to specific ads during television shows an increased consumption. Ad exposure over 20 television shows was monitored, and the researchers looked at whether the ads had an impact on teen drinking rates. They found from their study of more than 1000 people, that there was a significant connection between exposure to a brand in advertisements on television, and actual consumption of the beverage.

Teenagers are specifically targeted by the alcohol industry, even though people below the age of 21 are not allowed to possess or drink alcohol. The legally permissible drinking age in California is 21 as in the rest of the country.

If you are a parent, you need to take the risks of teenage drinking very seriously, especially those involving teen DUI. Teenagers are much more likely to get behind the wheel after having had a few drinks, and in California, can be arrested even if they register at below the .08% that is in place for an adult drinker. In other words, a teenager who has just had a couple of beers could register with enough alcohol in the system to be arrested for DUI. That comes with a host of DUI penalties, including a blot on the teen’s driving history, complications when it comes to college admissions, and other consequences.