Alcohol advertising on Boston's Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority transit system: an assessment of youths' and adults' exposure.

Abstract

We investigated the frequency with which alcohol advertisements appeared on Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) transit lines in Boston, MA, and we calculated adult and youths' exposure to the ads. We measured the nature and extent of alcohol advertisements on 4 Boston transit lines on 2 separate weekdays 1 month apart in June and July of 2008. We calculated weekday ad exposure for all passengers (all ages) and for Boston Public School student passengers (aged 11-18 years). Alcohol ads were viewed an estimated 1,212,960 times across all Boston-area transit passengers during an average weekday, reaching the equivalent of 42.7% of that population. Alcohol ads were viewed an estimated 18,269 times by Boston Public School student transit passengers during an average weekday, reaching the equivalent of 54.1% of that population. Advertisers reached the equivalent of half of all Boston Public School transit passengers aged 11 to 18 years and the equivalent of nearly half of all transit passengers in the Boston area with an alcohol advertisement each day. Because of the high exposure of underage youths to alcohol advertisements, we recommend that the MBTA prohibit alcohol advertising on the Boston transit system.