Adolescents in Europe may be just as susceptible to online alcohol marketing as their counterparts elsewhere, according to a recent study in four countries that links the ads with kids' likelihood of drinking and of binge drinking.

There have been similar results from studies conducted in the U.S., Scotland and the Pacific, said lead author Avalon de Bruijn of the European Center for Monitoring Alcohol Marketing in Heerde, the Netherlands, but “it was a surprise to me that the impact of online advertising was so strong and the exposure so high among young people in these countries.”

Alcohol marketing seems unavoidable on the internet, de Bruijn told Reuters Health by email......