Much of alcohol marketing is aimed at younger drinkers. Marketing images and themes aimed at young legal drinkers also appeal to the underage segment, so it is reasonable to ask about the extent to which these images reach them and their impact on underage drinking. Despite decades of research in this area, there has not been an attempt to reach scientific consensus in this area. Our aim is to summarize the known scientific literature on alcohol marketing and underage drinking and to follow that up with a process whereby scientists seek consensus.
Koop Fellow Samantha Cukier and Koop Director James Sargent will publish a supplement in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs that includes reviews that cover all aspects of the alcohol marketing literature. Part of that review is a Cochrane review of the longitudinal and experimental research in this area; the Cochrane review process gathers and summarizes the best evidence from research to help make informed choices about treatment and policy. The following chapters, all to be written by experts in their fields, will be included in the journal supplement. Preliminary work on each of the chapters is available below, as presented by each group of authors at a meeting in Atlanta, GA in November, 2017.
Introduction to the project (James Sargent, Samantha Cukier, Ashley Wettlaufer)
- Alcohol marketing: Overview of the landscape (David Jernigan)
- Descriptive studies of advertising content (Craig Ross)
- Alcohol marketing regulatory environment (Lonneke van Leeuwen, Karin Monshouwer, Marloes Kleinjan, Rutger Engels, Petra Meier)
- Neurobiological plausibility: Cue reactivity (Andrea Courtney)
- Psychological theory (Kristina Jackson and Bruce Bartholow)
- Alcohol marketing (cue reactivity) and its influence on people who are dependent (pending)
- Systematic review of cross-sectional studies of marketing and alcohol use (Joel Grube, Sharon Lipperman-Kreda, Laura Finan)
- Cochrane review of longitudinal and experimental studies of marketing and alcohol use (Samantha Cukier, Ashley Wettlaufer, Silvia Minozzi, Kristina Jackson, Bruce Bartholow, Mike Stoolmiller, James Sargent)
- Systematic review of econometric studies of alcohol advertising (Henry Saffer)
- Systematic review of the landscape of alcohol marketing in low and middle-income countries (Tom Babor)
- Systematic review of the influence of digital marketing on alcohol use (Jon Noel)
- Causality by analogy (Michael Weitzman)
We would like the Cochrane Review of longitudinal and experimental studies (see Chapter 8 above) to be the centrepiece of the project, a) because we think the longitudinal and experimental studies will be the strongest scientific evidence, b) because of the rigorous methods required by the Cochrane organization, and c) because the review can be updated as new data become available. Also, in concluding the Cochrane review, we would make recommendations on the most appropriate methods of measurement so that future studies could be included in meta-analyses.
For more information about the Cochrane methods, see the presentation by Cochrane methods expert Silvia Minozzi, co-author of our Cochrane review.
*C. Everett Koop Institute names are bolded above.