A new scientific study explains how promotional tools for alcoholic beverages directly influence underage drinking, Dartmouth-Hitchcock reported.
According to researchers from the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, young viewers develop a relationship with alcoholic products due to television advertisements.
For the study, researchers turned to data collected by surveys from 2011 to 2013 about underage drinking and television commercials for alcoholic drinks. Around 4,000 participants aged 15 to 23 years old were used for the research.
Based on the results, 23.4 percent of participants in the 15 to 17 age group saw advertisements for alcohol. For the 18 to 20 year olds, 22.7 of them are familiar with alcohol ads. Lastly, 25.6 percent of the older 21 to 23-year-old age group has been exposed to commercials about alcoholic drinks.
Among those below the legal drinking age in the United States, 29 percent have participated in binge drinking. In addition, around 19 percent of them have practiced hazardous drinking, which is regularly consuming more than the recommended daily alcohol limit, according to Medical News Today.
The researchers explained that the correlation between alcohol advertisements and underage drinking is caused by the development of product familiarity.
"Our study found that familiarity with and response to images of television alcohol marketing was associated with the subsequent onset of drinking across a range of outcomes of varying severity among adolescents and young adults, adding to studies suggesting that alcohol advertising is one cause of youth drinking," the researchers wrote in the report.
The researchers also noted that the findings indicate that stricter regulations should be imposed on advertisers and companies that promote alcohol in order to protect minors.
According to a report from the Centers of Disease Control, underage drinking is linked to an average of 4,500 deaths in the country each year. The agency explained that it could lead to fatal traffic collisions, alcohol poisoning, suicide and homicide, Media Post reported.
The study, titled "Cued Recall of Alcohol Advertising on Television and Underage Drinking Behavior," was published in the American Medical Association's monthly peer-review journal, JAMA Pediatrics.
