We have known for some time that depicting smoking in movies encourages people especially young people to smoke and now a new study finds that portraying the drinking of alcohol leads people to drink.
These findings for people in recovery who may see drinking on TV and in films as triggers.
As a public health policy it would be advantageous to discourage the portrayal of alcohol use on TV and in films.
From ScienceDaily on March 5, 2009:
New research has shown for the first time that portrayals of alcohol in films and TV advertisements have an immediate effect on the amount of alcohol that people drink.
The research, published online March 4 in the journal Alcohol and Alcoholism, found that people who watched films and commercials in which alcohol drinking featured prominently immediately reached for a bottle of beer or wine and drank an average of 1.5 bottles more than people who watched films and commercials in which alcohol played a less prominent role.
A little further down it reads:
"Our study clearly shows that alcohol portrayals in films and advertisements not only affects people's attitudes and norms on drinking in society, but it might 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."
To read the Science Daily report click here.
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