Youth exposure to alcohol ads in magazines declining

Youth exposure to alcohol advertising in magazines declined 49% from 2001 to 2005, according to a new report by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at Georgetown University. The study also found, however, that a substantial portion of the alcohol industry's ads remains in magazines with disproportionate youth (12-20 year-old) audience composition: 44% of advertisements and 50% of spending in 2005. Magazines with disproportionate youth audience composition were defined as those with youth audiences greater than 15%, the proportion of youth ages 12-20 in the general population age 12 and above.

Most alcohol companies have successfully shifted their advertising to publications that meet the voluntary maximum of 30% youth audience composition adopted by the beer and distilled spirits trade associations in 2003. According to the report, less than 1% of alcohol advertisements and alcohol advertising dollars in 2005 were in magazines with youth readership exceeding the industry standard, down from a high of 11% in 2002.

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