MADD Says Youth Should Be Out Of Reach Of Industry Ads

Statement for attribution to: Wendy J. Hamilton, National President, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)

The new study out today (Wednesday) as Hispanic families prepare for Cinco de Mayo celebrations shows that Latino youth join youth of other cultures as targets of alcohol product advertising. A new Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) report released today shows that Hispanic youth see even more alcohol advertising in youth-oriented magazines and on radio and television than non-Hispanic youth who are already drenched in ads.

Hispanic youth see 32 percent more alcohol advertising for malternatives, alcopops and other "low-alcohol refreshers" in magazines than do youth of other cultures. Also, in U.S. cities that are most highly-populated with Latino populations, Hispanic youth are overexposed to English-radio alcohol advertising and 85 percent of the alcohol industry's Spanish-language TV advertising spending takes place in these markets. The alcohol industry appears to know its target for increasing sales -- young Hispanics. Since young Latinos tend to be bilingual and seek out English media in some cases more than Spanish media outlets, the industry gets lucky by reaching diverse audiences in one language. Youth are the unlucky ones.

I hope Latino parents across the nation will join me in my concern about the underage drinking problem. Alcohol is the No. 1 youth drug problem and research shows that Hispanic young people are more likely to drink and to get drunk at earlier ages than other non-Hispanic youth. MADD's elementary, middle and high school programs offer parents, teachers and communities prevention solutions.

MADD has requested that the government seriously consider stricter alcohol advertising regulations. The families of youth who suffer the tragedies of alcohol-related incidents, including binge drinking, car crashes, sexual assaults and suicides know too well how important this issue is for the future of America.

MADD's goal is to reflect the face of America and actively achieve this mission among all races and ethnic communities. For more information on MADD's youth programs and statistics, please visit www.madd.org or MADD's Spanish website.