The average teenager sees about 200 ads for alcohol on television each year. According to a new UCLA study ads for beer, liquor and alcopops are more likely to be aired on cable television when teens are watching.

Dr. Paul Chung, a professor of pediatrics, and his research team studied more than 600,000 ads on cable television. The researchers found that more ads were shown on shows that had a higher percentage of young watchers between the ages of 12 and 20 years old.

"The study did not examine whether alcohol and advertisers are intentionally over-exposing adolescents," Dr. Chung said. "The alcohol industry has consistently denied actively targeting teenagers, and our study was not designed to test that claim. However, the ultimate effect of their advertising strategies, intentional or not, appears to be greater exposure than might be expected if adults were the targets of ads."

The UCLA study appeared in the American Journal of Public Health.

Labels: teens, advertising, television

Posted By: Aspen/CRC