Washington ? America’s youth saw far more alcoholic beverage ads in magazines in 2001 than did adults, according to a recent study.

Magazine advertising for beer and alcohol reached youth 12 to 20 more effectively in 2001 than it reached adults, according to findings by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University.

Jim O’Hara, the center’s executive director, said one of the most important findings was marketers of beer delivered 45 percent more advertising to youth than to adults in magazines in 2001, and 27 percent more for distilled spirit brands. Wine advertising reached youth 58 percent less.

“You can make your choice to advertise so that it effectively reaches the legal-age population without overexposing youth to alcohol advertising,” O’Hara said.

In September 1999, the Federal Trade Commission issued a report reviewing the alcohol industry’s advertising and marketing practices.

The FTC report called on the industry to raise the current standards to reduce underage alcohol ad exposure.

The center has asked the FTC to reopen its inquiry into whether the industry is doing a good job in protecting children from exposure to alcohol advertising.

“We think the industry is falling short of goals the FTC set in 1999,” O’Hara said.

But industry officials discounted the center’s findings, saying they are adhering to FTC guidelines.

“We do have a voluntary set of guidelines, and it’s adhered to almost to the letter by each of our members,” said Jeff Becker, president of the Beer Institute in Washington.

Maxim, Allure, Glamour and Spin are among magazines with a youth audience that feature alcohol advertising. Findings by the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at Georgetown University show alcohol advertising is reaching teens more effectively than the adults they target.

The center looked at $320 million worth of alcohol advertising in magazines measured by Mediamark Research Inc. during 2001. The information was compared to other data on how much each magazine was looked at by teen-agers or adults.

Other findings in the report:

Marketers of low-alcohol refreshers, such as Smirnoff Ice, delivered 60 percent more advertising to youth than to adults.

Wine was the second leading alcohol advertising category in magazines.

Underage youth saw nearly as much advertising as young adults ages 21 to 34. Adults ages 35 and older were a distant third audience.

The study found that 10 magazines with a youth audience of more than 25 percent accounted for nearly one-third of all alcohol advertising expenditures in measured magazines in 2001. Those magazines include Vibe, Spin, Rolling Stone, Allure, Car and Driver, Maxim, Glamour, Motor Trend, In Style and Sports Illustrated.

More than half of the money spent on alcohol, magazine advertising was in 24 magazines with youth audience.