CAMY Identifies Alcohol Brands Associated with Underage Drinking

The Boston University School of Public Health and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
School of Public Health’s Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY)
have published a study identifying alcohol brands allegedly consumed
by underage youth. Michael Siegel, et al., “Brand-Specific Consumption of
Alcohol Among Underage Youth in the United States,” Alcoholism: Clinical
& Experimental Research, February 2013. According to a February 11, 2013,
CAMY press release, the top 25 brands that study participants reported
consuming during a 30-day period “account for nearly half of youth alcohol
consumption,” with 27.9 percent of study participants reporting that they
consumed Bud Light, 17 percent reporting that they consumed Smirnoff malt
beverages, and 14.6 percent reporting that they consumed Budweiser.

The study’s authors reportedly based their findings on Internet surveys completed by 1,032 participants aged 13 to 20 years who responded to questions about “their past 30-day consumption of 898 brands of alcohol among 16 alcoholic beverage types, including the frequency and amount of each brand consumed in the past 30 days.” The results evidently showed that “of the top 25 consumed brands, 12 were spirits brands (including four vodkas), nine were beers, and four were flavored alcohol beverages.”

“For the first time, we know what brands of alcoholic beverages underage youth in the U.S. are drinking,” said CAMY Director David Jernigan. “Importantly, this report paves the way for subsequent studies to explore the association between exposure to alcohol advertising and marketing efforts and drinking behavior in young people.”