Smirnoff among brands preferred by underage drinkers

Researchers have found that underage drinkers in the US prefer different spirits brands to adults, claiming other factors influence consumption.

Researchers in the US found that Smirnoff vodka is the preferred alcohol brand among underage drinkers

A study by academics at Boston University’s School of Public Health (BUSPH) has revealed that youth drinkers disproportionately consume spirits brands including Smirnoff, Bacardi, Malibu, and Captain Morgan, compared to adults.

Researchers claim that by examining brand-specific drinking patterns between different age groups, they were able to deduce that underage drinkers do not merely imitate consumption habits of adults.

“Underage drinkers are not just adopting the brand choices modeled by their parents or other adults,” said lead author Dr Michael Siegel, professor of community health sciences at BUSPH. “Other factors are influencing which brands of alcohol young people are consuming.”

The group used three data sources to estimate youth and adult alcohol consumption by brand: a 2012 internet survey of underage drinkers aged 13-20, GFK MRI’s Survey of the Adult Consumer for the years 2010-12, and national data compiled by Impact Databank to estimate overall market shares for each brand.

Researchers then calculated preference ratios for each brand, finding that underage drinkers disproportionately preferred 15 leading brands.

Among the preferred brands were Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey, Absolut vodka, and Patron Tequila. The alcohol brand most preferred by underage drinkers was found to be Smirnoff vodka.

BUSPH teamed with the Centre on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health for the study.

Published online by Substance Abuse, this is the first study to compare brand-specific consumption between underage and adult drinkers.

“Future research is urgently needed to understand to what extent other factors — such as price, taste and marketing — play a role in young people’s choices of these particular brands,” said study co-author David Jernigan, CAMY director.

“Follow-up studies will allow us to measure the degree of association between exposure to alcohol advertising and marketing efforts and brand preferences in young people.”

The study adds that more than 70% of high school students in the US report having consumed alcohol, and about 22% report having engaged in heavy episodic drinking.