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January 30, 2006

Forging the Link Between Alcohol Advertising and Underage Drinking

Sales pitches for alcoholic beverages are everywhere: at the grocery store, in magazines, on television, and at concession stands. Kids can’t avoid them, even though alcohol ads are supposedly aimed at adults. Researchers have long suspected a connection between alcohol advertisements and underage drinking, but positive correlations to date may have been due to other factors like peer and family influences that affect both drinking and ad exposure. Researchers with the RAND Corporation have now made a much stronger connection, taking a new look at alcohol ads and youth drinking with studies designed to avoid the pitfalls of earlier ones. Furthermore, they tested to see if participation in a school-based drug prevention program can counteract the impact of alcohol ads.

Posted by Gary Holden at January 30, 2006 8:07 AM