he alcohol business seems to be in high spirits. And as more and more ad dollars get pumped into TV, underage viewers� exposure to alcohol advertising has exploded, according to a new study conducted by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University (www.camy.org).

According to the report, between 2001 and 2005, 1.4 million alcohol ads ran on TV at a cost of $4.7 billion. The number of ads went up 34 per cent during that five-year span. The boost can be attributed to the fact that distilled spirits companies broke a 48-year-old self-imposed ban on TV advertising.... more