Producers of beer, wine, and distilled spirits should work harder at shielding young people from alcohol advertising, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) concluded in a report released Sept. 9 on the alcohol industry's self-regulatory efforts.

At the same time, the report gives the industry's self-regulation a vote of confidence and notes that companies generally comply with voluntary standards now in place.

The report recommends that ad placement standards be tightened to reduce the percentage of underage consumers exposed to alcohol advertising; that college marketing be curtailed; and that independent review boards be created to monitor compliance.

Entitled "Self-Regulation in the Alcohol Industry," the report caps a year-long inquiry in response to a joint request from the House and Senate Appropriations committees. The report is based on input from eight major companies and three trade associations, a review of alcohol makers' Web sites, and information from government agencies and consumer groups.

The study reviewed the voluntary advertising codes of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, the Beer Institute, and the Wine Institute. All three codes have similar provisions aimed at preventing advertising to underage consumers.

The codes generally state that more than 50 percent of the audience for alcohol advertising should be over the age of 21. However, the report notes that only 30 percent of the population is under 21 and only 10 percent is 11 to 17. Thus, the report recommends tougher ad placement standards with percentages for young audiences well under 50 percent.

Only four of the eight companies responding to the FTC could demonstrate that nearly all of their ads complied with the 50-percent standard. Two other companies fell short of that mark and two did not submit reliable data. According to the voluntary codes, alcohol advertising should not be more