Overall youth exposure to alcohol advertising in magazines is on the decline, but some brands continue to be advertised in publications with large youth readership, according to a report from the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY).

The CAMY report said that youth continued to see more ads for beer, distilled spirits, and 'alcopops' than adults, but exposure declined sharply between 2001 and 2004. For example, a 2001 CAMY report estimated that youths saw 52 percent more beer ads than adults; the 2004 report estimated youth overexposure at 10 percent.

However, said CAMY, 10 percent of the brands advertised in magazines in 2004 accounted for half of youth exposure to alcohol ads. "This decrease in youth exposure to alcohol ads in magazines is an encouraging development and a step in the right direction, but we need to see this kind of improvement across all the alcohol brands," said CAMY executive director David Jernigan.

The group noted that while only 3 percent of ads appeared in magazines that had youth readership of 30 percent or more -- the voluntary alcohol-industry threshold -- about 42 percent of ads were in publications with 15 percent or more readers under age 21 -- the threshold that groups like CAMY would like the industry to adopt.

The CAMY report included some rare praise for the alcohol industry, crediting beer and distilled-spirits companies for setting up independent monitoring of alcohol ads. "Ongoing independent monitoring of youth exposure to alcohol advertising gives policy-makers and parents information they need to reduce the odds that kids will drink," said Jernigan.