The Role of Alcohol Advertising in Excessive and Hazardous Drinking

Abstract

Based on a nationwide survey of 1,200 respondents predominantly in the twelve to twenty-two age range, alcohol advertising appears to contribute to certain forms of problem drinking. There is a moderately positive correlation between the amount of day-to-day exposure to beer, wine, and liquor ads and both excessive alcohol consumption and drinking in hazardous contexts such as automobile driving. These relationships remain significant when demographic attributes and interpersonal influences are controlled. The evidence indicates that advertising stimulates consumption levels, which in turn leads to heavy drinking and to drinking in dangerous situations. When respondents are shown specimen advertisements depicting excessive consumption themes or hazardous drinking situations, these concepts are readily perceived and many infer an implicit endorsement of such behavior by the sponsoring companies. These results have implications for designing alcohol abuse education messages that can effectively counteract the impact of advertising.