Study Recommends Prohibiting Alcohol Advertising in Boston’s Public Transit System

Concluding that alcohol ads are viewed more than 18,000 times by public school student transit passengers during an average weekday, a new study recommends that Boston’s public transit system be prohibited from displaying alcohol advertisements. Justin Nyborn, et. al, “Alcohol Advertising on Boston’s Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) Transit System: An Assessment of Youths’ and Adults’ Exposure,” American Journal of Public Health (November 2009). Some 9,600 students aged 11-18 use the transit system daily.

Michael Siegel, a professor at Boston University School of Public Health who co-authored the study, said, “By allowing alcohol advertising on the T, the state is not only allowing alcohol companies to bombard our kids with enticing advertisements, it is also allowing these companies to successfully recruit new drinkers among underage youths in the Commonwealth.” Siegel’s primary research interest is in tobacco control. See BU School of Public Health: The Insider, November 4, 2009.

In a related development, earlier this year Massachusetts State Representative Martin Walsh (D-Dorchester) introduced legislation (H-1113) that would eliminate alcohol advertising on all state property. The bill is pending before the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight.