Research notes: Alcohol brand references in Pop music by United States

Today I'm going to launch a new feature in health Pop called "research notes".  This feature highlights new revised research that integrates public health and culture pop.

Researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of public health have recently released a study that examined references of alcohol in popular music.  The study is published online in the daily use & abuse of substances:

References of brand of alcohol in the Popular Music of the United States, 2009-2011Michael Siegel, Renee M. Johnson, Keshav Tyagi, Kathryn Power, Mark C. Lohsen, Amanda J. Ayers and David H. JerniganThe study highlights several interesting results: four brands of alcoholic drinks (tequila Patron, Hennessy cognac, Grey Goose vodka and whisky Jack Daniel) accounted for more than half of alcohol brand mentions in songs that mentions alcohol consumption in the most popular Billboard song charts in the year 20092010 2011.Alcohol mentions were more common in urban issues (rap, hip-hop and R & B - 37.7% of alcohol mentioned songs), followed by country (21.8%) and pop (14.9%).Alcohol use was interpreted as overwhelmingly positive, with the negative consequences that is rarely mentioned.Press release of the study, the researchers highlight several practical implications of these findings: "given the heavy exposure of youth to popular music, these results suggest the popular music can serve as an important source for the promotion of the consumption of alcohol among young people," said the study co-author David Jernigan, PhD. "the results set a solid foundation for future research." "A small number of alcoholic beverages and beverage brands seems to make frequent appearances in popular music," said Michael Siegel, MD, MPH, Professor of community health at the Boston University School of Public Health Sciences. "If these exhibitions are found to influence young people drinking behavior, then even more the efforts of public health should focus on youth representations of alcohol exposure on popular music."