Young viewers exposed to ’excessive alcohol content’ in Geordie Shore

Nearly 80% of all scenes throughout season 11 of MTV's popular hyper-reality show 'Geordie Shore' contained alcohol content or alcohol use according to the results of a new study published today by researchers in our Department for Health with collaborators at the University of Nottingham. The authors behind the paper - published Sunday 21 January in the journal Alcohol & Alcoholism - suggest that more needs to be done to protect young viewers from alcohol imagery and its harmful effects, including a potential review of age classification policy for the programme. Key findings from season 11. By coding 7 hours of footage over 10 episodes of season 11, they found that: 78% of scenes contained alcohol content 30% of scenes contained actual alcohol use 72% of scenes contained inferred alcohol use 59% of other scenes contained other alcohol references Alcohol brands occurred in nearly a quarter of all scenes (23%) Smirnoff was brand that appeared most frequently, in 43% of all brand appearances Over 60% of brand appearances occurred in episodes which when released on DVD were classified by the BBFC as suitable for viewing by people aged under 18. Worst binge-drinking rates in Europe. The UK is currently struggling with the worst binge-drinking rates in Europe. Given the potentially young target audience for Geordie Shore, the wide reach of MTV, and evidence that media exposure to alcohol promotes alcohol consumption by young people, the research team suggest action needs to be taken to address their findings.