Exposure of Hispanic Youth to Alcohol Advertising

Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States. Between 1990 and 2000, the U.S. Hispanic population grew 58%, from 22.4 to 35.3 million. This Hispanic population is also younger than the general population: 40% of Hispanics are under 21, versus 30% of the entire population. The number of Hispanics under the age of 21 grew 61% between 1990 and 2000, totaling 17% of the nation's youth under 21 in 2000.

The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth commissioned Virtual Media Resources (VMR) to audit the exposure of Hispanic youth to alcohol magazine, television and radio advertising in 2002. In previous reports, the Center has found wide and pervasive overexposure of all youth to alcohol advertising in magazines and on television and radio. This analysis compares the exposure of Hispanic youth to that of non-Hispanic youth, and the Center finds that Hispanic youth were even more overexposed to alcohol advertising than non-Hispanic youth.