The results of this study suggest that wine coolers, a sweetened alcoholic beverage innovation, has played a significant role in underage drinking. Teens selected wine coolers over other alcoholic beverages, as both the drink they preferred when they first started drinking alcohol and the drink they preferred at the time of the study. This preference for coolers was stronger for females than males and stronger for younger teens than for older teens. The authors also provide tentative evidence that the presence of coolers may have influenced some teens to drink more alcohol than they might have otherwise.
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