Alcohol Advertising at Boston Subway Stations: An Assessment of Exposure by Race and Socioeconomic Status

Objectives. We investigated the frequency of alcohol ads at all 113 subway and streetcar stations in Boston and the patterns of community exposure stratified by race, socioeconomic status, and age. Methods. We assessed the extent of alcohol advertising at each station in May 2009. We measured gross impressions and gross rating points (GRPs) for the entire Greater Boston population and for Boston public school student commuters. We compared the frequency of alcohol advertising between neighborhoods with differing demographics. Results. For the Greater Boston population, alcohol advertising at subway stations generated 109 GRPs on a typical day. For Boston public school students in grades 5 to 12, alcohol advertising at stations generated 134 GRPs. Advertising at stations in low-poverty neighborhoods generated 14.1 GRPs and at stations in high-poverty areas, 63.6 GRPs. Conclusions. Alcohol ads reach the equivalent of every adult in the Greater Boston region and the equivalent of every 5th- to 12th-grade public school student each day. More alcohol ads were displayed in stations in neighborhoods with high poverty rates than in stations in neighborhoods with low poverty rates. (Am J Public Health. 2011;101:1936-1941. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300159).