2. The case of alcohol 

A cartoon from Holland sees three politicians discussing the problem of adolescent crimes, street violence and hooliganism.  They look glum until one says: "It won't be easy to tackle these problems...so let's blame alcohol advertising". Drinking alcohol in most western societies is a natural, normal activity.  Young people have expectations about the use of alcohol and need to be taught safe limits for daily and celebratory use, warning signs of overdoses and emergency procedures when people are seriously intoxicated.  They learn moderation from others as well as the etiquette of consumption (eat when drinking; drink water with alcohol; don't drink before and during driving, sport, work).

          Whether or not they have ever seen advertising, young people are influenced by their parents, peers and teachers.  Adolescents understand the nature of advertising and are as influenced or not by it as their parents.  What determines adolescent alcohol use and abuse is complex.  Researchers have come to various conclusions in their reading of the salient literature.  Quoting many different reports Fisher (1993) concluded: 

 1.      The mechanism through which individuals acquire behaviour from filmed models or imitation was not significantly related to alcohol use or abuse. 

  2.     Consumers believe that the majority of con-sequences that befall alcohol users in the media are negative. 

  3.     Norms regarding alcohol use are learned early in life and are predominately negative. 

  4.     Imitation of filmed models use of alcohol by children is restricted and does not generalise to beliefs about their personal use, use by other children, or use when they become adults. 

  5.     Mass media does not appear to be a credible source of information about alcohol or drinking. 

  6.     There appears to be no relationship or even an inverse one between television viewing and consumption." (p132-133). 

Various researchers have concluded that alcohol advertising has a small but contributing effect on drinking behaviour.  There have been over the years various different reviews of the literature.  Two things are striking.  The first is that reviewers do come to different conclusions regarding the effect of advertising on alcohol consumption possibly as a function of both the select literature reviewed but also because of their own value set. However, what is noticeable is that even those who conclude that advertising is effective are unable to show anything but very minor effects.  That is, there are many factors that determine when, why and how much alcohol young people choose to consume. To develop mature, responsible and moderate drinking in young people has much more to do with education than legislation though there will always be those eager to see the latter as a simple solution to a complex problem.