Adolescents are 239 times more likely to see an ad touting alcohol than to view an industry-sponsored ad about "responsible" drinking, according to a new study from the Center on Alcohol Marketing & Youth (CAMY).

Broadcasting & Cable reported June 29 that researchers who tracked more than a million alcohol ads broadcast between 2001 and 2005 said that the alcohol industry spent $4.9 billion on product ads during the five-year period, but just $104 million on "responsibility" ads. Just eight of 109 alcohol advertisers spent any money at all on responsibility ads, although a record amount ($24 million) was spent on such ads in 2005.

Dan Jaffe, executive vice president of government relations for the American Association of Advertising Agencies, said the CAMY study "ignores the multi-millions of dollars being spent on these issues by The Ad Council and the Century Council, which are major public-service campaigns that impact these issues."

"CAMY acts as if advertising is the only or primary method of responding to these challenges," Jaffe said. "The alcohol-beverage community has numerous programs beyond advertising directed to these questions and that go far beyond advertising. They have dedicated substantial funding to these community based programs."