Increased binge risk due to alcohol plugs in pop

Teenagers and young adults in the US are more likely to drink to excess if they can identify alcohol brands referenced in popular music, according to a new study.

A new study has found that teenagers able to recognise or alcohol brands in pop music are more likely to binge drink

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Dartmouth-Hitchcock Norris Cotton Cancer Centre found that binge drinking among this group was strongly associated with liking, owning and correctly identifying music that mentions alcohol by brand name.

The findings were based on a randomized survey of more than 2,500 people ages 15 to 23.

In the survey, which could be completed either through the Internet or on paper, participants were given the titles of popular songs with alcohol mentions and asked if they liked the song or owned the song.

They were also tested to determine if they could spontaneously recall what brand of alcohol was mentioned in the song.

Survey participants who could correctly recall alcohol brands in songs had more than twice the odds of having had a complete alcoholic drink (defined as two ounces of beer, five ounces of wine or 1.5 ounces of spirits), compared to those who could not recall the alcohol brand.

Researchers also suggest that the participants who could identify the alcohol brands in songs also had greater odds of binge alcohol use.

Of the 2,541 participants who completed the survey, 1,488, or 59%, reported having had a complete alcoholic drink.

Binge drinking increase

Meanwhile, 18% of this group reported binging – or drinking heavily over a short period of time – at least monthly and 37% reported having had problems, such as injuries, due to alcohol.

“Every year, the average adolescent is exposed to about 3,000 references to alcohol brands while listening to music,” said lead author Brian A. Primack, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine and pediatrics and director of the Program for Research on Media and Health, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

“It is important that we understand the impact of these references to alcohol brands in an age group that can be negatively impacted by alcohol consumption.”

The authors further suggest that policy and educational interventions designed to limit the influence of alcohol brand references in popular music could be important in reducing alcohol consumption in teens and young adults.

“Brand references may serve as advertising, even if they are not paid for by the industry,” said senior author James D. Sargent, MD, co-director of the Cancer Control Research Program at Norris Cotton Cancer Center.

Industry criticism

However, industry body the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States (DISCUS) has hit out at the study, claiming that it “completely ignores the fact that underage drinking is at historic lows and, most importantly, that the overwhelming instances of brand-name references in song lyrics are not solicited or paid for by alcohol companies”.

A statement from the organisation adds: “The Federal government recently issued a major report on alcohol advertising and recognized the Distilled Spirits Council for its robust and effective self-regulatory system in directing advertising to adults.

“In its comprehensive review of product placements in music and other entertainment media, the FTC Report concluded paid product placements in all types of media amounted to about one-tenth of one percent of advertising expenditures.”

For DISCUS, the study also falters in its use of participants over legal drinking age, then concluding that having a single drink is “problematic” for this group.

The results of the study were published in the online journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.