Alcohol Brand Preference and Binge Drinking Among Adolescents

Adolescents commonly misuse alcohol, with 24.2% reporting current binge drinking in surveys of US high school students.1 Early-onset drinking raises risks for drinking-related morbidity2 and alcohol dependence. The alcohol industry spent $1.7 billion in media advertising in 2009 (The Nielsen Co, unpublished data, 2009. Ratings and other data contained herein are the copyrighted property of The Nielsen Co. Unauthorized use of this copyrighted material is expressly prohibited. Violators may be subject to criminal and civil penalties under Federal Law [17 USC 101 et seq.]. All rights reserved.), operating only under voluntary limits regarding youth. Moreover, in 1996, the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States ended its ban on television advertising. If such advertising is reaching adolescents, brands with larger ad expenditures may be chosen as favorites, and adolescents might choose a distilled spirit as their favorite brand to drink. We report favorite brand and its association with ad expenditures and binge drinking in a population survey of underage adolescents.