Majority of states fail to address youth exposure to alcohol marketing

Reducing youth exposure to alcohol advertising and marketing is a missed opportunity for states to improve public health, according to a new review of state alcohol advertising laws from the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The report examines the extent to which states' alcohol advertising laws incorporate eight different best practices to reduce youth exposure to alcohol advertising and marketing, and finds only eleven states use more than one of the eight and no state uses more than five. The report is available on CAMY's website, www.camy.org.

"We know quite a bit about how to reduce youth exposure to alcohol marketing and advertising," said David Jernigan, PhD, CAMY director. "Unfortunately, this report shows states have a long way to go towards using that knowledge to reduce youth exposure."

Alcohol is responsible for 4,700 deaths per year among young people under the age of 21. 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.

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http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-05/jhub-mos050112.php