Alcohol ads linked to problem drinking

NEW YORK, Jan. 13 (UPI) -- Alcohol ads in predominantly African-American neighborhoods in New York City may add to problem drinking behavior among residents, researchers said.

The study involved 139 African-American women between the ages of 21-49 who resided in Central Harlem. The women were eligible to participate if they reported having at least one alcoholic beverage per month for the past six months, but had no history of a formal medical diagnosis of alcohol or substance abuse.

Naa Oyo Kwate of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health said that of the sample, 31 percent were reported to be problem drinkers, defined in the study as endorsing behaviors such as needing a drink first thing in the morning or feeling guilty about drinking.

The findings, published in the American Journal of Public Health, showed that both exposure to alcohol advertising and a family history of alcoholism were related to being a problem drinker. But even after the researchers statistically controlled for the effect of having a family history of alcoholism, exposure to advertisements was significantly related to problem drinking, the study said.

"We found that, on average, exposure to each alcohol ad in a woman's residential block was associated with a 13 percent increase in the odds of being a problem drinker," Kwate said in a statement.