Highly deficient alcohol health warning labels in a high‐income country with a voluntary system

Tinawi, Georges; Gray, Tessa; Knight, Thomas R.; Glass, Chayce; Domanski, Nina; Wilson, Nick; Hoek, Janet; Thomson, George

doi:10.1111/dar.12814

Cited by 7 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Research has also indicated variation in what type of messages the alcohol industry is willing to support. Tinawi et al [ 150 ] examined a sample of 59 low-cost local and imported beers, wines and ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages available in New Zealand in 2016–2017, where warning labels are voluntary. They noted that 80% had pregnancy-related warnings, 73% had industry-led warnings, e.g., “responsible” consumption, and 19% had warnings about drink driving or heavy machinery.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alcohol Health Warning Labels: A Rapid Review with Action Recommendations

Giesbrecht

Reisdorfer

Rios

2022

IJERPH

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A rapid review of research on health warning labels located on alcohol containers (AWLs) was conducted. Using five search engines (Embase, Medline, Pubmed, Scopus, Psyinfo), 2975 non-duplicate citations were identified between the inception date of the search engine and April 2021. Of those, 382 articles were examined and retrieved. We selected 122 research papers for analysis and narrative information extraction, focusing on population foci, study design, and main outcomes. Research included public opinion studies, surveys of post-AWL implementation, on-line and in-person experiments and real-world quasi-experiments. Many studies focused on the effects of the 1989 United States Alcoholic Beverage Labeling Act on perceptions, intentions and behavior. Others focused on Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, England or Scotland, Italy and France. There was substantial variation in the design of the studies, ranging from small-scale focus groups to on-line surveys with large samples. Over time, evidence has been emerging on label design components, such as large size, combination of text and image, and specific health messaging, that is likely to have some desired impact on knowledge, awareness of risk and even the drinking behavior of those who see the AWLs. This body of evidence provides guidance to policy-makers, and national and regional authorities, and recommendations are offered for discussion and consideration.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alcohol Health Warning Labels: A Rapid Review with Action Recommendations

Giesbrecht

Reisdorfer

Rios

2022

IJERPH

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“…ingredients, calories, warnings) self-regulated by alcohol companies. Tinawi et al [51] argue that voluntary warnings on alcohol packaging in New Zealand, like the UK, are inadequately designed to inform consumers and that evidence-based, standardised requirements outlining alcohol-related risks are necessary. As over 740 000 of all new cancer cases in 2020 globally were attributable to alcohol consumption [52], with alcoholic liver deaths in the UK increasing [53], our findings could help inform packaging regulations to meaningfully inform consumers about alcoholic products and potential harms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of alcohol packaging as a health communications tool: An online cross‐sectional survey and experiment with young adult drinkers in the United Kingdom

Jones

Moodie

Purves

et al. 2022

Drug and Alcohol Review

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Introduction Alcohol packaging is a potentially valuable means of communicating product and health‐related information, with growing academic and political interest in its role as a health communications vehicle. Methods An online cross‐sectional survey and experiment were conducted with a non‐probability sample of 18–35‐year‐old drinkers in the United Kingdom (n = 1360). The survey assessed exposure to, and engagement with, current messaging on packs, and support for displaying product and health‐related information. For the randomised experiment, participants were shown, and asked questions about, a vodka bottle with either no warnings (control), small text warnings, large text warnings or pictorial (image‐and‐text) warnings; the main binary outcome measures were negative product appeal and social acceptability, and positive cognitive and behavioural impact. Results Two‐fifths of the sample rarely or never saw on‐pack health‐related information, with almost three‐quarters rarely or never reading or looking closely at this. There was strong support for displaying a range of product and health‐related information (e.g. units, ingredients) on packs. Relative to the control, products with warnings were more likely to be perceived as unappealing and socially unacceptable, and to positively impact alcohol‐related cognitions and behaviours. For example, pictorial warnings were 10 times as likely to positively influence cognitions and behaviours (AOR = 10.01, 95% CI: 8.09, 17.46). Discussion and Conclusions Alcohol packaging could have an important role in delivering health messaging. Large pictorial or text warnings may help counteract the appeal and social acceptability of alcohol products and increase awareness of risks, potentially supporting a reduction in consumption and related harms.

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“…Despite international public health calls [ 16 , 40 ] and specific World Health Organization recommendations for widespread provision of nutrition information on packaged alcoholic products to guide informed consumer choice [ 41 ], energy labelling (i.e., the listing of calorie/kilojoule information) is not mandatory in many jurisdictions, including the United States, European Union, and Australia. Reports suggest international alcohol industry pressure has delayed more widespread uptake in international policy (e.g., the Codex Alimentarius) of labelling requirements supported by public health evidence [ 42 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reports suggest international alcohol industry pressure has delayed more widespread uptake in international policy (e.g., the Codex Alimentarius) of labelling requirements supported by public health evidence [ 42 ]. Voluntary industry uptake of such labelling has been limited to date; 5.1% of alcoholic beverage containers showed nutritional data including energy information in a recent New Zealand audit [ 40 ], and earlier in England only 1.3% showed energy information [ 43 ]. Despite this, studies show strong public support for alcohol nutrition and energy labels, including among drinkers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Which drinkers have changed their alcohol consumption due to energy content concerns? An Australian survey

et al. 2022

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Background Alcohol is a discretionary, energy dense, dietary component. Compared to non-drinkers, people who consume alcohol report higher total energy intake and may be at increased risk of weight gain, overweight, and obesity, which are key preventable risk factors for illness. However, accurate consumer knowledge of the energy content in alcohol is low. To inform future behaviour change interventions among drinkers, this study investigated individual characteristics associated with changing alcohol consumption due to energy-related concerns. Methods An online survey was undertaken with 801 Australian adult drinkers (18–59 years, 50.2% female), i.e. who consumed alcohol at least monthly. In addition to demographic and health-related characteristics, participants reported past-year alcohol consumption, past-year reductions in alcohol consumption, frequency of harm minimisation strategy use (when consuming alcohol), and frequency of changing alcohol consumption behaviours because of energy-related concerns. Results When prompted, 62.5% of participants reported changing alcohol consumption for energy-related reasons at least ‘sometimes’. Women, those aged 30–44 years, metropolitan residents, those with household income $80,001–120,000, and risky/more frequent drinkers had increased odds of changing consumption because of energy-related concerns, and unemployed respondents had reduced odds. Conclusions Results indicate that some sociodemographic groups are changing alcohol consumption for energy-related reasons, but others are not, representing an underutilised opportunity for health promotion communication. Further research should investigate whether messaging to increase awareness of alcohol energy content, including through systems-based policy actions such as nutritional/energy product labelling, would motivate reduced consumption across a broader range of drinkers.

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Highly deficient alcohol health warning labels in a high‐income country with a voluntary system

Cited by 7 publications

References 35 publications

Alcohol Health Warning Labels: A Rapid Review with Action Recommendations

Alcohol Health Warning Labels: A Rapid Review with Action Recommendations

The role of alcohol packaging as a health communications tool: An online cross‐sectional survey and experiment with young adult drinkers in the United Kingdom

Which drinkers have changed their alcohol consumption due to energy content concerns? An Australian survey

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