ABSTRACT
Recent years have witnessed a growing concern about the medical and social consequences of excessive drinking and of alcohol related problems. In Britain, this concern has been accompanied by the development of various pressure groups and lobbies seeking to regulate alcohol consumption by socio-economic means and by the control of advertising. Differences in styles and patterns of drinking behaviour exist among different groups of people and in different localities. Different groups in society use the media in vastly different ways. Communication research indicates that the media influence people’s ideas and beliefs about lifestyles and norms both directly and indirectly. Indeed, a great deal of research is needed to provide baseline information on the way in which the use of alcohol and related issues is portrayed in prime time television. Media studies on the content of drinking portrayals were initiated in the United States as early as the 1930s.
