Underage Youth Drinking Concentrated among Small Number of Brands: New Study.
The top 25 of nearly 900 brands accounted for nearly half of youth alcohol consumption, the study found. In contrast, adult consumption is nearly twice as widely spread among different brands.
A relatively small number of alcohol brands dominate underage youth alcohol consumption, according to a new report from researchers at the BU School of Public Health (BUSPH) and the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
The report, published online in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, is the first national study to identify the alcohol brands consumed by underage youth and has important implications for alcohol research and policy, the authors said.
The top 25 of nearly 900 brands accounted for nearly half of youth alcohol consumption, the study found. In contrast, adult consumption is nearly twice as widely spread among different brands.
Close to 30 percent (27.9%) of underage youth surveyed reported drinking Bud Light within the past month; 17 percent had consumed Smirnoff malt beverages within the previous month; and about 15 percent (14.6%) reported drinking Budweiser in the 30-day period.
Of the top 25 consumed brands, 12 were spirits brands (including four vodkas), nine were beers, and four were flavored alcohol beverages.
The researchers surveyed 1,032 youths, ages 13-20, via an Internet-based survey instrument. Respondents were asked about their past 30-day consumption of 898 brands of alcohol, spread among 16 alcoholic beverage types, including the frequency and amount of each brand consumed.
“We now know, for the first time, what alcohol brands – and which companies – are profiting the most from the sale of their products to underage drinkers,” said lead study author Dr. Michael Siegel, professor of community health sciences at BUSPH. He added: “The companies implicated by this study as the leading culprits in the problem of underage drinking need to take immediate action to reduce the appeal of their products to youth.”
Alcohol is responsible for 4,700 deaths per year among young people under the age of 21. More than 70 percent of high school students have consumed alcohol, and about 22 percent engage in heavy episodic drinking, past studies have indicated. At least 14 studies have found that the more young people are exposed to alcohol advertising and marketing, the more likely they are to drink – or, if they are already drinking, to drink more.
“For the first time, we know what brands of alcoholic beverages underage youth in the U.S. are drinking,” said study author David Jernigan, CAMY director. “Importantly, this report paves the way for subsequent studies to explore the association between exposure to alcohol advertising and marketing efforts and drinking behavior in young people.”
The brands with the highest rates of consumption among underage users were: Bud Light (27.9%); Smirnoff Malt Beverages (17.0%); Budweiser (14.6%); Smirnoff Vodkas (12.7%); Coors Light (12.7%); Jack Daniel’s Bourbons (11.4%); Corona Extra (11.3%); Mike’s (10.8%); Captain Morgan Rums (10.4%); and Absolut Vodkas (10.1%).
Siegel and his co-authors noted that scientific literature lacks studies examining the link between youth exposure to advertising for specific brands and the consumption of those brands – something the researchers will tackle as the next step.
“That is exactly the direction we are going with this research, “Siegel said. “We are now in the process of collecting the data, and our next step will be to examine the relationship between the advertising data and the youth brand preferences.”
He noted that similar work conducted around the issue of teen cigarette smoking “played a central role in elucidating the influence of cigarette advertising on youth smoking behavior.”
The authors said they hoped their work would have policy implications in efforts to reduce underage drinking.
“Alcohol prevention programs and policies can now target specific brands, and advocacy efforts can focus on specific companies that manufacture the products most involved in problem drinking behavior among youth,” they said.
Other BUSPH authors on the study included: William DeJong, Timothy Naimi, Erin Fortunato and Alison Albers, all from the Department of Community Health Sciences; David Rosenbloom of the Department of Health Policy and Management; and Timothy Heeren of the Department of Biostatistics.
The research was supported by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. BUSPH and Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers are using a four-year, $2.4 million grant from the NIAAA to examine the links between youth drinking and marketing efforts. Previous studies led by Siegel have examined consumption patterns among underage drinkers, as well as alcohol advertising placements in magazines and on the Boston MBTA.
The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth monitors the marketing practices of the alcohol industry to focus attention and action on industry practices that jeopardize the health and safety of America’s youth.
Submitted by: Lisa Chedekel
chedekel@bu.edu