Youth Exposure to Alcohol Advertising

Alcohol is the leading drug problem among young people, and underage drinking is responsible for approximately 5,000 deaths per year among persons under age 21.4. Young people who start drinking before age 15 are five times more likely than those who wait to drink until age 21 to have alcohol problems later in life, including alcohol dependence and involvement in alcohol-related violence and motor vehicle crashes.

Evidence that exposure to alcohol advertising and marketing increases the likelihood of underage drinking has grown substantially. Since 2001, at least seven peer-reviewed longitudinal studies have found that young people with greater exposure to alcohol marketing are more likely to start drinking than their peers. (from the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth)