1. THE MARKETING OF ALCOHOL
David H. Jernigan PhD
Associate Professor
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
and
Director,
Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth

2. Acknowledgments
Michele Simon, J.D., Research and Policy Director, The Marin Institute
Amanda Stewart, B.S., M.P.H. student, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

3. Alcohol marketing and NCDs
What is the connection?
Patterns of light to moderate drinking without heavy drinking occasions may be protective
Heavy drinking patterns (>50 g./day for women, >60 g./day for men) increase risk of a wide range of adverse health effects
Drinking patterns established early in life
Alcohol marketing most influential on young people

4. Youthful drinking and heavy drinking
Young people who begin drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to become alcohol dependent than those who wait until 21 (Grant and Dawson 1997)
Incidence of the onset of alcohol dependence peaks at age 18 – risk of dependence very low after age 25. (Li et al. 2004)

5. Adverse consequences of early onset
In the US, compared with persons who wait until age 21 to start drinking, young people who start drinking before age 15 are:
Four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence (Grant and Dawson 1997)
Six times more likely to be in a physical fight after drinking;
Greater than six times more likely to be in a motor vehicle crash because of drinking;
Almost five times more likely to suffer from other unintentional injuries after drinking (Hingson et al. 2009).

6. The public health interest
Strong public health interest in delaying onset of drinking as well as any binge occasions.
In the US, more than 90% of alcohol consumed by young people is drunk on binge occasions.
Exposure to alcohol marketing increases likelihood of early onset of drinking and, if already drinking, of heavier consumption. (Anderson et al. 2009)

7. Longitudinal studies connecting youth exposure to drinking
Beer concessions at sporting events (Collins et al. 2007)
Per capita spending on alcohol advertising in their media market (Snyder et al. 2006)
Alcohol use in movies (Sargent et al. 2006)
Ownership of alcohol promotional items (McClure et al , Henriksen et al. 2008)
Television advertisements (Collins et al. 2007, Snyder et al. 2006, Stacy et al , Morganstern et al. 2011)
Alcohol ads in magazines (Collins et al. 2007, Snyder et al. 2006)
Alcohol ads on billboards (Snyder et al , Pasch et al. 2007)
In-store beer displays (Collins et al. 2007)

8. Alcohol industry self-regulation
Beer advertising and marketing materials should not…claim or represent that individuals cannot obtain social, professional, educational, athletic, or financial success or status without beer consumption. 8

9. Alcohol industry self-regulation
Beverage alcohol advertising and marketing materials should not be associated with anti-social or dangerous behavior. 9

10. What the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) does
Answers the question: how much alcohol advertising do kids see?
Tracks alcohol advertising on TV and radio and in magazines
Uses standard industry sources – Neilsen, Arbitron, etc. – to measure the audiences for that advertising.
Shows that over and over again, kids are exposed to more alcohol advertising per person than adults. 10

11. Youth exposure to alcohol advertising: magazines
In 2008, compared to adults 21 and over, youth ages saw per capita…
10% more beer ads
16% more ads for alcopops
73% fewer wine ads
The overwhelming majority of youth exposure – 78% - came from ads placed in magazines with disproportionate youth audiences. 11

12. Youth Exposure to Alcohol Ads on U.S. Television
In 2009, 315,581 alcohol product commercials appeared on U.S. television.
Underage youth ages were more likely than legal- age adults on a per capita basis to have seen 67,656 of them, or about 21%.
These ads accounted for more than 44% of youth exposure to alcohol advertising on television.
From 2001 to 2009 – the number of television alcohol ads seen by the average 12 to 20 year-old increased by 69%, from 217 per year to 366 per year. 12

13. Marketing alcohol to women
Girls much more overexposed than boys
Magazines, 2002:
Girls saw 68% more beer advertising, 95% more alcopops advertising per capita than women
Radio, 2009
In five of 11 markets measured – Washington, Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco, and Detroit – underage girls were more exposed to alcohol advertising than adult women, age 21 and above.

14. “Targeting” youth? Cable television study:
Census of 608,591 advertisements on cable television, 2001 to 2006
each one-point increase in the percentage of the audience that was adolescent was associated with more beer (+7%), spirits (+15%), and alcopop (+22%) ads per viewer-hour, but fewer wine (-8%) ads (P<.001 for all). (Chung et al., American Journal of Public Health, 2009) 14

15. Trends in alcohol marketing
New products
Digital marketing
Alcohol as a health food
Stakeholder marketing

16. “Alcopops”
In Nova Scotia:

17. How popular are alcopops among kids?
Most popular with the youngest drinkers.
78% of current 8th grade drinkers (past 30 days) drank alcopops in the past 30 days.
71% of current 10th grade drinkers (past 30 days) drank alcopops in the past 30 days.
65% of current 12th grade drinkers (past 30 days) drank alcopops in the past 30 days.
42% of current drinkers, age 19 to 30, drank alcopops in the past 30 days.
Source: MTF 2004 17

18. Most popular with females in every age group
Teenage girls (33%) were more likely to prefer alcopops compared to teenage boys (27%)
Girls saw 95% more magazine advertising for alcopops than legal-age women (Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2004)
Exposure to girls of advertising for alcopops increased 216% from

19. Alcoholic energy drinks
Research findings on effects of alcoholic energy drinks on the drinker:
Subjective perceptions of intoxication decreased (i.e. headache, weakness, dry mouth, perception of impaired motor coordination) compared to effects of drinking alcoholic non-energy drink
However, according to objective tests, motor coordination and visual reaction time were still just as impaired. (ACER 30: , 2006)
AED drinkers more likely to engage in dangerous activities 19

20. 20

21. Alcoholic energy drinks
Caffeinated alcoholic beverages declared adulterated product by FDA in November 2010 – banned from the market by mid-December
Still available in Canada:

22. The Latest in Alcopops: High Alcohol Flavored Malt Beverages
“Binge in a can”
Same packaging as alcoholic energy drinks
Same huge serving size – 23.5 ounces of 12% alcohol
Similar dangers to youth
Equivalent of 5 drinks, sold as single serving
Category grossed $959 million in 2010 (WSJ)

23. New products: Nova Scotia
Alcoholic chocolate milk…

24. New products: alcoholic whipped cream
“Whipahol”, “Whipped Lightning”, “Get Whipped”
One can has alcohol content of 3 beers (18.5% alcohol)
Flavors like white chocolate raspberry and strawberry colada