Unreported Responses to New Anti-Alcohol Study
There is a brand new study published in JAMA Pediatrics journal being discussed in the media. The study concerns the impact of alcohol advertising on children and young adults. According to Time Magazine’s reporting on the study, researchers have shown that “Alcohol advertising that reaches children and young adults helps lead them to drink for the first time—or, if they’re experienced underage drinkers, to drink more.”
The author of the study, James D. Sargent, MD, concludes that his study is “very strong evidence that underage drinkers are not only exposed to the television advertising, but they also assimilate the messages,” and that “That process moves them forward in their drinking behavior.”
This new study means a number of different things to different people. For example, reporting on the study has shown that:
• Dr. Sargent thinks the study means the “Alcohol industry should restrict its TV advertising “at least as much” as the tobacco industry does — meaning no TV ads about alcohol at all.
• The president of High Watch Recover Center believes the new study means “There are too many compounding variables to draw a correlation between TV ads and drinking behavior among youths,”
However unreported responses to the news that children and young adults assimilate the TV messages and that they impact their drinking behavior are likely to go unreported. Such as:
• Marketers, Ad Agencies and Big Beer Producers: At least someone is “assimilating” our expensive TV commercials.
• Producers of Sweet Red Wines: Maybe it’s time to use television to announce that our wines are in fact sweeter than other wines.
New Age Prohibitionists: What if we create TV ads showing that the only thing that will kill off good-looking teen vampires and the Kardashians is consumption of alcohol?
• Tom Wark: A public service message showing the proper way to mix an Old Fashioned wouldn’t be a bad idea.
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