Alcohol Clin Exp Res

BackgroundThe question of whether underage youth are disproportionately exposed to alcohol advertising lies at the heart of the public health debate about whether restrictions on alcohol advertising are warranted. The aim of this study was to determine whether alcohol brands popular among underage (ages 12 \u2013 20 years) drinkers (\u201cunderage brands\u201d) are more likely than others (\u201cother brands\u201d) to advertise in magazines with high underage readerships.MethodsWe analyze the advertising of 680 alcohol brands in 49 magazines between 2006 and 2011. Using a random effects probit model, we examine the relationship between a magazine\u2019s underage readership and the probability of an underage or other brand advertising in a magazine, controlling for young adult (ages 21\u201329 years) and total readerships, advertising costs and expenditures, and readership demographics.ResultsWe find that underage brands are more likely than other brands to advertise in magazines with a higher percentage of underage readers. Holding all other variables constant at their sample means, the probability of an \u201cother\u201d brand advertising in a magazine remains essentially constant over the range of underage readership from 0.010 (95% CI, 0.007\u20130.013) at 5 percent to 0.012 (95% CI, 0.008\u20130.016) at 35 percent. In contrast, the probability of an underage brand advertising nearly quadruples, ranging from 0.025 (95% CI, 0.015\u20130.035) to 0.096 (95% CI, 0.057\u20130.135), where underage brands are 7.90 (95% CI, 3.89\u201311.90) times more likely than other brands to advertise.ConclusionsAlcohol brands popular among underage drinkers are more likely than other brands to advertise in magazines with high underage readerships, resulting in the disproportionate exposure of underage youth. Current voluntary advertising industry guidelines are not adequate to protect underage youth from high and disproportionate exposure to alcohol advertising in magazines. To limit advertising exposure among underage youth, policy makers may want to consider regulation of alcohol advertising in magazines.R01 AA020309/AA/NIAAA NIH HHSUnited States/U58 DP002072/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHSUnited States