The TV Made Me Do It: Children and Alcohol Consumption
New research published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs supports evidence that alcohol adverts influence underage drinking. The authors suggest that the more exposure children receive to adverts for specific brands, the greater quantity of those brands they will subsequently consume. More specifically, the study claims that underage drinkers who had seen no alcohol adverts had on average around 14 drinks per month. This number more than doubled for those who had seen 300 adverts. For children who had seen more than 300, their consumption levels were nearer to 200 drinks per month.
Alcohol industry guidelines state that adverts should be limited to only showing between programmes with a majority adult audience. However, these are not always followed and there is currently no punishment for bending the rules. The study shows that despite the regulations, children are still being exposed to alcohol adverts. As such, the lead researcher on the project advises that its finding may provide an extra incentive to limit the time children spent in front of a screen.
