AMERICAN PIE - SHOWING ALCOHOL ON TV CAUSES PEOPLE TO DRINK MORE

SHOWING ALCOHOL ON TV CAUSES PEOPLE TO DRINK MORE

Showing alcohol on TV has been proved to have an immediate effect on the amount people drink.

Research published in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism today shows people who watched films and adverts which featured alcohol drinking prominently immediately looked for a drink and on average 1.5 bottles more than those who watched footage where alcohol played a less prominent role.

Scientists conducted a series of experiments on 80 male university students aged 18 to 29.

They divided the students into four groups: 20 watched a film (American Pie) in which characters drank alcohol 18 times and alcoholic drinks were portrayed an additional 23 times, and a commercial break that included ads for alcohol.

Twenty watched American Pie and a neutral commercial break with no alcohol ads.

Twenty watched a film (40 Days and 40 Nights) in which alcohol appeared far less prominently (characters consumed it three times and alcoholic drinks were shown 15 times) and a commercial break including ads for alcohol;

And 20 watched 40 Days and 40 nights and a neutral commercial break with no alcohol ads.

The participants watched the films and adverts in a room with access to a fridge containing both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks.

Over the period of one hour, those who were exposed to alcohol in both the film and commercial drank an average of nearly three 200 ml bottles of alcohol, while those who watched the neutral ads and the 'non-alcoholic' film drank an average of 1.5 bottles of alcohol.

Rutger Engels, from the Radboud University Nijmegen in The Netherlands, said: "This is the first experimental study to show a direct effect of exposure to alcohol portrayals on TV on viewers' immediate drinking behaviour.

"The results were straightforward and substantial: those who watched both the alcoholic film and commercials drank, on average, 1.5 bottles more than those who watched the non-alcoholic film and commercials."

Prof Engels added the portrayal of alcohol may work as a cue that affects craving and subsequent drinking in people who are drinkers

"This might imply that, for example, while watching an ad for a particular brand of beer, you are not only more prone to buy that brand next time you are in the supermarket, but also that you might go immediately to the fridge to take a beer."

The report concludes that if moderation of alcohol consumption in certain groups is strived for, it may be sensible to cut down on the portrayal of alcohol in programmes aimed at these groups and the commercials shown in between.

"Another implication may be that in situations in which this is possible (e.g. cinemas), availability of alcohol should be reduced when movies and commercials contain alcohol portrayal and individuals in a group at risk for problematic drinking are present," they add.