 Poll finds that parents of teens think alcohol ads have a
serious effect on teen drinking habits
9/03-View of a 5yr old at
local LA gas station
Washington, DC – Two-thirds of parents
say that seeing and hearing alcohol ads make teens more likely to
drink alcohol, and almost three-quarters of parents say that alcohol
companies are not doing enough to limit the amount of alcohol
advertising that teens see, according to a survey conducted by Peter
D. Hart Research Associates and American Viewpoint for the Center on
Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University.
“Parents get it that alcohol companies’ ads are
not helping them teach their children about the risks of alcohol
use,” said Jim O’Hara, executive director of the Center on Alcohol
Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University. “Parents want
accountability and responsibility from the beer and liquor
companies.”
Key findings from the survey include:
- Parents perceive alcohol ads as having a
serious effect on teen drinking habits, and they see alcohol
companies as falling far short in dealing responsibly with the
impact of their advertising on young people. Fully two-thirds
(66%) of parents say that seeing and hearing alcohol ads makes
teens more likely to drink alcohol than they otherwise would be.
Minority parents are substantially more likely than are parents
overall to think alcohol ads make teens more likely to drink, with
76% of African-American parents and 73% of Hispanic parents
agreeing that this is the case. Almost three-quarters of parents
fault alcohol companies for the amount of ads that teens see and
hear.
- Teens engaging in risky behavior while
under the influence of alcohol ranks at the top of a list of
concerns that parents have about teenagers’ behavior.
Eighty-two percent (82%) of parents say that teens’
alcohol-related risky behavior is a problem in society today,
including 56% who say that it is a big problem.
- A wide gap exists between parents’
perceptions of their teens’ drinking habits and those habits
reported by teens themselves. The largest gap is between
15-to 16-year olds and their parents. Only 31% of parents of
teens in this group say that their teen probably or definitely has
consumed an alcoholic beverage in the last year, as compared with
60% of teens in this age group who report having done this.
- Parents reject the argument that alcohol
companies’ advertising practices are legitimate as they are only
trying to make money like any other business. Parents
overwhelmingly (81%) believe that, due to the potentially harmful
effects of its products, the alcohol industry has a special
responsibility to avoid exposing young people to messages
encouraging alcohol consumption.
- Overall, parents find alcohol companies’
specific advertising practices to be very troubling. Parents
express strong disapproval for a variety of specific advertising
practices commonly used by alcohol companies. For example, 65% of
parents find it very troubling when they learn that alcohol
companies produce marketing Web sites that include video games and
other features that appeal to youth under the legal drinking age.
And, 63% of parents were very troubled to learn that beer
companies place their advertisements on television in such a way
that young people ages 12 to 20 see two beer advertisements on
television for every three seen by an adult.
"The survey results are striking because they show a nearly
universal view among parents that alcohol companies should be doing more
to reduce teens' exposure," said Geoffrey Garin of Peter D. Hart Research Associates.
"This belief is held by large majorities of every demographic subgroup, including two-thirds
or more of Republicans, Independents, and Democrats," said Gary Ferguson
of American Viewpoint.
More information on the Center and a full text
of this survey can be found at www.camy.org.
Background on the survey:
From June 2
to 8, 2003,
Peter D. Hart Research Associates and American Viewpoint conducted a
survey on behalf of the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at
Georgetown University among a random national sample of 801 parents
of 12- to 17-year-olds, including oversamples of 100
African-American parents and 100 Hispanic parents. The survey
carries a margin of error of +3.5%. Data on teen drinking
behavior is from the Monitoring the Future Survey, University of
Michigan, 2002.
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