Children living in areas with large numbers of alcohol ads on billboards, storefronts, bus stops and elsewhere are more likely to look favorably upon drinking, according to a new study.

UPI reported June 28 that researchers from the University of Florida and the University of Minnesota based their conclusions on a study of alcohol ads in the vicinity of 63 Chicago schools. Students were interviewed about their attitudes toward drinking in grade 6 and then again in grade 8.

The study authors found that the more alcohol ads were present in students' neighborhood, the more interested they were in drinking. The Chicago schools had an average of 28 alcohol ads within a two-block radius, but one school was surrounded by more than 100 ads.

The study was published in the July 2007 issue of the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs.