Alcohol Advertisements Bombard Teens and Young Adults

According to a new study from the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) out of Georgetown University, nearly 90,000 more alcohol ads aired on television in 2003 than two years earlier, with 23 percent of the ads that aired last year more likely to be seen by youth than adults.

The report Alcohol Advertising on Television 2001-2003 indicated that there were a total of nearly 300,000 advertisements for alcoholic beverages in 2003.  While commercials for beer far out-numbered other types of drinks, there was a huge increase in the number of ads for distilled spirits on cable networks.

Due to the overall increase in alcohol advertising, the study suggested that the number of ads overexposing underage youth increased to nearly 70,000.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has stated, "While many factors influence an underage person's drinking decisions, including among other things parents, peers, and the media, there is reason to believe that advertising plays a role."

Last year there were nearly 11 million youth aged 12-20 that reported drinking alcohol within the past month and 70 percent reported binge drinking.

The American Medical Association (AMA) has released studies showing that significant damage is caused to an underdeveloped person such as a teenager by consuming alcohol, stating that it "?causes long-term and possibly irreversible damage."  A report also stated that the average age that children try alcohol for the first time on their own is 12 years old.

According to one former alcoholic who had several run-ins with law enforcement while drinking underage, "Though the commercials obviously weren't solely responsible for my drinking at an early age, the way the parties and women were portrayed made me want to have the same thing happen to me.  I wanted to have a good time, but it just made my life horrible chasing that party scene depicted in the ads." 

This young man, now 27 and free from alcohol and other drugs for over five years, was fortunate enough to handle his addiction through the Narconon® Program and now looks back on the idiocy of his former ways.

For the underage drinkers who do develop an alcohol abuse or addiction, there are many types of programs available to help with the problem, some more effective than others.  Unfortunately, substitute drugs are even offered as supposed solutions to drinking, which only complicate the problem with their side-effects.

Narconon Arrowhead is the one of the largest and most successful drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs in the nation and is completely drug free.  Its effective approach at overcoming addiction is based on the research and developments by author and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard.

To find out more information about successful rehabilitation for an addiction to alcohol or other drugs contact Narconon Arrowhead today at 1-800-468-6933 or visit www.stopaddiction.com.
For more information about alcohol and statistics regarding its consumption log on to www.alcohol-addiction.org.  If you would like to view the entire report from the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth visit http://camy.org.

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