The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) should investigate alcohol-industry marketing to determine the extent to which it increases underage drinking, according to a coalition of 20 state attorneys general.

MarketWatch reported May 16 that the AGs asked the FTC to gather "updated data from alcohol advertisers, including data on expenditures, marketing practices and independent review procedures." They also asked the agency to require alcohol companies to restrict their advertising to publications and broadcasts with audiences comprised of at least 85 percent adults, up from the present standard of 70 percent.

In the past, the FTC has rejected the 85-percent standards, saying it would limit the industry's ability to market to adults. But the AGs contend that the standard makes sense because about 15 percent of the population is between 12 and 20 years old.

"If you're going to apply a proportional standard to a type of media in order to avoid overexposing youth to alcohol advertising, then that standard should have some real meaning in relation to the actual demographic information available for that media platform," said Utah AG Mike Shurtleff. "We believe the current standard overexposes youth to alcohol advertising,"

Dan Jaffe, executive vice-president at the Association of National Advertisers, predicted that the FTC would not adopt the 85-percent standard. "The Supreme Court and lower courts have said over and over again that you can't lower discourse in society to the level of the sandbox," he said. "It is perfectly legal in our society to advertise to a predominantly adult audience about a legal product."