Trends in Youth Exposure to Alcohol Advertising on Cable Television, United States, 2013–2018

Abstract

A growing body of research suggests that exposure to alcohol advertising increases the risk of alcohol-related adverse health consequences among underage populations. The alcohol industry has voluntary advertising guidelines to restrict the placement of alcohol advertisements only to media in which youth younger than age 21 comprise no more than 28.4% of the audience. However, the current guidelines do not account for variations in exposure among subpopulations of underage television viewers. Most youth exposure to alcohol advertising in traditional media in the United States comes from advertisements placed on cable television. Therefore, this study assessed trends among underage populations in per capita alcohol advertising exposure on cable television programs. Advertising placement and audience data on cable television were licensed from Nielsen (New York, NY). Per capita alcohol advertising exposure (gross rating points, or GRPs) was calculated for youth ages 2-11, 12-17, and 18-20 years from 2013 to 2018. We compared relative trends in exposure between age groups. Alcohol advertising exposure among youth ages 2-11 grew from 13,011 to 15,470 GRPs from 2013 to 2018, whereas exposure declined among youth ages 12-17 (24,663 to 17,780), and 18-20 (35,022 to 25,700). From 2016 to 2018, youth exposure to noncompliant advertising declined for all three underage groups assessed in this study. Alcohol advertising exposure among younger children grew faster than in other age groups assessed in this study. This was also the case for advertisements that complied with the alcohol industry's placement guidelines. Continued monitoring of alcohol advertising exposure among underage populations can help detect emerging trends.