Summary
Much of the confrontational efforts in the last four decades regarding the reduction of alcohol consumption have focused on the advertising of alcohol beverages. Critics of alcohol beverage advertising argue that the amount and substance of the alcohol advertising results in increased consumption of those beverages. A good deal of the research that supports this viewpoint utilises either cross-sectional data or controlled experiments, and identifies advertising as one of the possible factors influencing alcohol consumption. Using time-series analyses, this manuscript examines the relationship between distilled spirits advertising expenditures and consumption in the US from 1971 to 2008 on an aggregate and brand level. This four-decade period is especially interesting because it includes a decade in which the spirits industry ended a voluntary ban of advertising on electronic media.

Summary
Alcohol advertising in Britain is constantly under fire, with several well-publicised attacks on the industry. Behind these headlines and calls for action there is apparently a belief that alcohol marketing significantly influences drinking culture in the UK. This underlying premise is critical to the alcohol advertising industry because it drives demands for tighter regulation and greater restrictions. This report reviews the influential European Alcohol and Health Forum (EAHF) Science Group's 2009 report, 'Does marketing communication impact on the volume and patterns of consumption of alcoholic beverages, especially by young people? - A review of longitudinal studies', which claims that there is a correlation between alcohol marketing and youth alcohol consumption. It finds significant limitations in both the relevance of the research examined by the EAHF and also in the validity of the findings, and disputes the EAHF's assertions that 'commercial communications increase the likelihood that adolescents will start to use alcohol and to drink more if they are already using alcohol'.

Summary
This Comments section includes two essays. The first of these is by Debra and Michael Harker from the University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. They discuss issues being faced by advertisers in Australia, with food and alcohol advertising a highly problematic area. They are encouraged by a series of advances being made by teams of Australian scholars and practitioners pooling their resources and ideas to shed light on these social issues and to not only raise awareness of these issues, but to shed light on ways to effectively combat these problems. The other essay, by John Rossiter, at the University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia, addresses the issue of the fundamental gap that appears to exist in advertising between the importance and role of qualitative and quantitative research in addressing advertising theory and practice. He tackles this difficult issue with a commentary on the value of qualitative research and its synergistic effect upon quantitative research. Again the benefit is from the combining of the techniques rather than looking at one as opposed to the other.

Summary
In this Viewpoint article, Chris Hackley describes some of the important consequences and issues for the industry when the media are faced with market research commissioned from different perspectiveson a high-profile topic – alcoholic drink marketing and consumption behaviour in the UK. He discusses the conflicting role of research in informing the debate on the subject, and argues that engaging with young people – and the media – using research is a complicated problem. Diageo's recent advertising campaign marks one recent attempt by a advertiser to try and help in tackling the problem, but much more work still needs to be done.

Summary
Two researchers examine the controversial issue of the effects of alcohol advertising on children and suggest areas for future study. Erica Weintraub Austin focuses on media literacy programs and their potential to protect the young against what she describes as the powerful allure of alcohol advertisements. Stacey Hust argues for research to examine whether alcohol advertising venues, including new mechanisms such as games, videos and web downloads, can impact upon the beliefs and behaviour of young people with regard to alcohol consumption.

Summary
Beer consumption is predominantly male in the U.S. and has increased only slightly since the 1970’s. Most studies have found only weak advertising effects on aggregate alcohol expenditures but recognise positive associations with selective demand across brands and product categories. A comprehensive econometric model assessing this period revealed small but positive relationships with radio and cable advertising and per capita consumption as well as, counter-intuitively, warning labels on products.

Summary
The human and economic cost of alcohol misuse in the UK is high. Alcohol advertising has been criticised because of its presumed impact on alcohol consumption. This two-part investigation considers possible reasons for alcohol consumption in the UK. In the first section, the authors examine the hypotheses that advertising increases market size and that alcohol advertising drives overall consumption. In the second section, the authors identify and quantify the key correlates of alcohol consumption in the UK. They consider the claim that alcohol advertising is directed at driving consumption among younger drinkers by utilising the AlcoVision survey and building separate econometric models for young people aged 18-24 and those over 25. For both age groups, economic confidence and seasonality are identified as key correlates of consumption. Other correlates are dependent on age. Consumption among the 18-24 age group is correlated with on-trade promotions and the increasing trend for in-home drinking. Consumption among people over 25 is related to pricing issues, from both competing categories and the relative price of alcohol. No statistical relationship between alcohol advertising and consumption was found for either age group.

Summary
The marketing of alcohol, both dangerous drug and source of tax revenue, continues to attract critics such as the World Health Organisation. The industry claims that their aim is to influence brand choice and argues that there is no link between advertising and increased alcohol consumption. However, current self-regulatory codes of practice set boundaries which must continue to be closely adhered to if government intervention is to be avoided.

Summary
Public policy debates in the U.S. often target advertising when seeking to deal with problems involving health. Such has been the case with food, tobacco and alcohol advertising, but these frequent pronouncements about advertising fail in terms of presenting either objective or substantive scientific evidence, much of which actually disputes the arguments frequently put forward regarding the role and influence of advertising.

Summary
Brinsley Dresden, partner at solicitors, Lewis Silkin, asks whether the calls for a ban on alcohol advertising in the UK are likely to succeed. He rehearses the arguments against a ban, and reviews existing regulations and codes of conduct, and European experience. He concludes that further restrictions are likely, especially if advertisers keep pushing the boundaries.