If the abundance of liquor stores in Black communities of every major metropolis wasn’t enough of a hint, the latest study reveals that alcohol sales and advertisements are targeted at young Black youth. According to the latest study, young Young African Americans ages 12 to 20 see far more alcohol ads on television and in magazines than youths in general, according to the report published Thursday by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Alcoholism is a factor in the four leading causes of death among young people ages 10-24 including motor-vehicle crashes, unintentional injuries, homicide and suicide. While underage drinking is illegal in the United States, young people still have little difficulty obtaining alcohol and fall privy to believing the lifestyles promoted in million dollar advertising campaigns.
The study found that Black youth consume less alcohol than other youth, and attributed the reason to factors like poverty, social norms, or religion in spite of advertising. David Jernigan, director of the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth noted that Blacks who do indulge in alcohol appear to suffer more serious consequences, perhaps because they tend to have less access to health care and substance abuse treatment, live in poorer neighborhoods (poverty) and are incarcerated more frequently.
Two factors are credited as to why: Black youth seem to consume more media than youth overall, and many alcohol ads specifically target Black youth. The study cited Nielsen data from 2012 noting Black youth watched more than 53 percent more television than youth in general. Advertisers are doing little to regulate youth exposure to alcohol ads, and young blacks saw 32% more alcohol ads in magazines, and 17% more alcohol ads on television than youth overall in 2009. Black youth were exposed to 26% fewer radio ads for alcohol than youth in general, but they heard 32% more radio ads for hard liquor. An older study of rap lyrics showed 64% of the most popular songs released from 2002 to 2005 referenced alcohol, a steady increase since 1997.
Of course heads of major alcohol marketing companies like the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States will counter that the data is flawed, listing opposing statistics that show an overall decrease in youth alcohol consumption in the United States. However, the spike in print magazine promotions, radio and television ads that feature young Black models and celebrities are clearly aimed at a particular audience.
A third factor rarely discussed amongst researchers and marketing heads nor mentioned in the study is that target marketing and little regulation of its consumption may be a contrived tactic to regulate the Black population, increase incarceration numbers, and prevent widespread excellence. A conspiracy theory, but consider the unspoken motivation the next time an alcohol ad is played over the radio, or rap lyric is repeated that promotes overindulgence to young people.
