CWIN studies impact of advertisements of alcohol and tobacco on children in Nepal

The study was conducted by a team coordinated by Sumnima Tuladhar. For the study the team interviewed 789 children in the age group 10-18 years. They came from five districts in Nepal and half of them were school going children, the other half not. Unstructured interviews as well as focus group discussions were employed to generate primary data. Among the media, television stood out as the most influential instrument in promoting alcohol use among youth and children. More than three fifths of the respondents reported that they have seen famous people advertising alcohol on TV and more than half of them reported to have seen people drinking alcohol "very often" on TV.

In another part of the study major Nepali newspapers and magazines published in the month of October 2004 were reviewed in order to see the extent of alcohol and tobacco advertisement. Most of the newspapers and magazines feature tobacco and alcohol advertisements of particular brands on a daily bases. While most of the children’s magazines were found to be free from alcohol and tobacco advertisements, youth magazines featured such advertisements often. These advertisements project alcohol or tobacco use as a form of entertainment, relaxation, having fun or to show that someone is cool or interesting. They also associate alcohol or tobacco with success and strength. Most of these advertisements also associate attractive looking girls exposing their bodies with the alcohol in which they are promoting.

Alcohol advertisement seen in locations around the country was also measured, and the brand most familiar to the children was the Danish beer Tuborg, followed with the Indian liquors Bagpiper and McDowells no 1.

 

Download the study (pdf):
Tuladhar, Sumnima: Impact of Alcohol and Tobacco Advertisements on Children, CWIN, Kathamandu, 2005