If you think that the TV ads your children are seeing is “age appropriate” read on.
Parents who are concerned about underage drinking might be interested to discover that youth exposure to alcohol advertising on TV has risen by more than a third (!) since the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth began monitoring this it in 2001.
Why should parents care about this? In 2007 (the last complete data) about 20% of TV ads for alcohol were placed on programming more likely to be viewed by 12- 20 years olds than by people of legal drinking age.
According to a recent Surgeon General’s report underage drinking is responsible for about 5,000 deaths per year. In addition, that office tells us that people who start drinking before the age of 15 (vs. those who wait until they are 21) are 5 times more likely to experience alcohol-related problems later in life.
And advertising works.
Want to find out more about the specifics of this advertising in your TV-viewing ‘market’. Click here and scroll down to the big town closest to you.
