News
- Survey shows post-pandemic increase in drinking for some
- Scottish Government commit to further plans to restrict alcohol marketing
- Challenge and Change: Rod Anderson
- Parliament must come together to renew and reinvigorate MUP
- A responsible drinking campaign that features cocktail recipes
- Unacceptable rise in alcohol-specific deaths
- Health experts share concerns about complaint made on MUP evaluation
- Decline in alcohol treatment in Scotland
- Challenge and Change: Lived Experience Voices on Alcohol Marketing
- Blog post for Alcohol Awareness Week 2023
- Final verdict on MUP
- Alcohol and diabetes
- Doctors say lack of response on alcohol deaths could spell disaster for Scotland
- MUP reduces deaths and hospital admissions
- Alcohol hospital admissions continue to be too high
- Lessons learned from countries with marketing restrictions
- What is the effect of alcohol marketing on people with or at risk of an alcohol problem?
- ONS figures show highest alcohol deaths on record
- MUP and alcohol sales
- Scottish Government launches alcohol marketing consultation
- MUP and alcohol products and prices
- Scottish Health Survey 2021
- New licensing policy review guide
- Slight increase in alcohol-specific deaths
- Health campaigners call on Scottish Government to regulate alcohol packaging
- Scottish charity calls for ban on all alcohol promotion
- New NCD Prevention Report - Mapping Future Harm
- Online Alcohol Sales & Deliveries: A survey of young people in Scotland
- Four years of MUP
- Prominent health warnings make drinking “unappealing”
- Insights from People in Recovery
- Meet our Engagement Team Marc
- Meet our Engagement Team Megan
- Report on alcohol sales and harm in Scotland during the COVID-19 pandemic
- Sugar content in wine revealed
- Alcohol hospital admissions lower during pandemic
- Study reveals those already at risk from heavy drinking bought more alcohol during lockdowns
- Alcohol policy measures could reduce ambulance callouts
- 18.6% increase in deaths from alcohol in 2020
- Widespread support for calls to increase minimum unit price for alcohol to 65p
- Students as Change Agents
- Health charities call for action to save lives from Scotlands biggest killers
- Three quarters of Scots back new controls to help protect children from alcohol advertising
- Alcohol-specific deaths in Scotland increase
- More accurate estimates for the burden of Alcohol on the Ambulance Service: around 1 in 6 callouts in Scotland are alcohol related
- How can alcohol labels be improved to help people make informed consumption choices
- Health experts call for better alcohol labelling
- Young people and their views on alcohol marketing
- Lowest alcohol sales in Scotland for 26 years
- Minimum unit pricing has lasting impact study shows
- Euros renews call for action to protect children from alcohol sports sponsorship
- Current alcohol labelling of little relevance to young adult drinkers
- Governments should step up efforts to tackle harmful alcohol consumption
- Scottish public and leading health experts back changes to alcohol labelling
- AFS calls for 65p minimum unit price for alcohol
- How will the main parties prevent harm from alcohol?
- Alcohol labelling reform is way past its sell by date
- Alcohol policy priorities for the next parliament
- Young drinkers believe prominent health warnings on alcohol could boost risk awareness
- Alcohol and the Workplace Effective Interventions
- Alcohol sales and consumption in Scotland during the pandemic
- How can we prevent alcohol deaths?
- Alcohol Deaths and Minimum Unit Pricing
- YoungScot Health Panel report on alcohol marketing and harm
- Young Scots show support for restrictions on alcohol marketing
- New release of alcohol related hospital admissions
- Better alcohol labelling – A way to boost awareness of the risk between alcohol and cancer?
- NICE Guidelines on FASD Surveillance or Support?
- Alcohol Deaths Prevention Support
- Almost half of Scots in favour of minimum unit pricing
- Leading health charities call for action in Scotland
- Health experts campaign for better understanding of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
- Health experts call for alcohol labelling overhaul
- Australian ministers agree to visible pregnancy warning
- Alcohol Focus Scotland welcomes new WHO report on alcohol pricing
- Survey shows Scots lockdown drinking rise caused by stress
- Statistical analysis of off-trade alcohol sales in the year following MUP
- Alcohol Focus Scotland Review of statements of licensing policy 2018 to 2023
- We need to continue long-term focus on alcohol
- Scots report changing drinking patterns during coronavirus lockdown
- Time to Blow the Whistle on Alcohol Sport Sponsorship
- New evidence demonstrates that alcohol ads lead to youth drinking
- Alcohol sales fall in first year of MUP
- First study published into under 18 drinkers post MUP
- Commission on Alcohol Harm calls for evidence
- Two years on Are annual functions reports reaching their potential?
- We need to do more to protect our children and young people
- New Alcohol Deaths Prevention Support Now Available from AFS
- Scottish primary children call for action on alcohol
- Its time to tell us whats in our drinks
- A home for Rory
- Making a bad impression - blog post
- Alcohol marketing and children debate in the Scottish Parliament
- Alcohol sales and MUP
- Lowest alcohol sales in 25 years
- Research into fall in violence
- The Children's Parliament investigates an alcohol-free childhood
- Minimum unit pricing one year on
- More about sales data
- A family of resources it is all about prevention, education and resilience
- AFS publish Review of Licensing Board Annual Functions Reports 2017-2018
- Marketing unmasked dispelling the myths and taking a stand
- No place for alcohol marketing in sport
- Scotland publishes first UK guidelines for diagnosing fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)
- The Alcohol Framework 2018 Preventing Harm
- Scotlands new drug and alcohol strategy launched
- AFS welcome new alcohol strategy
- Recent reporting on alcohol sales data
- Diageo is failing to provide latest guidelines on their products
- Drinks companies keeping consumers in dark about risky drinking
- Reducing alcohol consumption can address health inequalities
- Global first alcohol policy set to save hundreds of Scots' lives
- AFS welcomes minimum unit pricing for alcohol
- Truer picture of alcohol harm revealed
- Alcohol causes 3,700 deaths in Scotland every year
- Scotland's licensing system needs clearer direction
- Minimum pricing blog
- Minimum pricing gets green light
- Alcohol brands and young people
- Time for honest conversations about alcohol
- Q&A on alcohol marketing
- UK children anxious about parents' drinking
- Alcohol producers failing to inform public
- Concern over alcohol-related deaths
- We need to make it easier for people to drink less
- Worrying rise in alcohol-related deaths
- Minimum pricing will save lives
- Pocket money prices for alcohol continue
- Scotland's alcohol problem laid bare
- Cheap alcohol is costing Scotland dear
- One drink a day can increase breast cancer risk
- Poverty linked to increased harm from alcohol
- What next for reducing alcohol harm in Scotland?
- Scotland must do more to turn tide of alcohol harm
- Concern as funding for alcohol services cut
- Scottish Government urged to curb alcohol marketing
- Consumers have the right to know health risks
- Alcohol-free childhood is healthiest option
- SWA granted leave to appeal minimum pricing
- SWA will appeal to UK Supreme Court
- SWA urged to respect minimum pricing decision
- Minimum pricing can be implemented in Scotland
- Emergency services face shocking levels of alcohol abuse
- Every child has the right to grow up safe from alcohol harm
- Minimum pricing - European court ruling
Prominent health warnings on alcohol products make drinking “unappealing”, new study finds
Young adult drinkers are more likely to perceive alcohol products as "unappealing" and "socially unacceptable" if they display prominent health warnings, according to new research.
The University of Stirling study – based on a survey of 1,360 drinkers living in the UK aged between 18 and 35 years old – found two-fifths (40.1%) of participants reported rarely or never seeing health-related information, messages, or warnings on alcohol packaging.
The research found that participants ‘strongly agreed’ that alcohol packaging should display a range of product and health-related information, and ‘agreed’ there should be warnings.
Participants were shown a range of warnings on packaging and felt the warnings would catch their attention when buying alcohol and make them aware of potential health risks. Larger warnings were particularly effective in reducing product appeal and social acceptability, the research team found
Daniel Jones, of the Institute for Social Marketing and Health at Stirling, led the research and believes packaging could be an effective means of delivering health messaging.
He said: “Alcohol misuse is a key risk factor for illness, disability, and death. It is implicated in more than 200 diseases and responsible for approximately 3.3 million deaths annually.
“Our study provides an important insight into the thoughts and attitudes of young adult drinkers toward alcohol packaging and the inclusion of product information and health warnings.
“We found that alcohol packaging could have an important role in delivering health messaging. Large pictorial or text warnings in particular may help to counteract the appeal and social acceptability of alcohol products, while increasing awareness of risks. The findings of this research and previous studies indicate that warnings could, potentially, lead to a reduction in consumption and related harms.”
Currently, the only product and health-related information legally required on alcohol packaging in the UK is volume, strength of alcohol by volume, and presence of common allergens.
The new study aimed to assess a sample of young drinkers’ exposure to, and engagement with, current messaging on packs; support for displaying product and health-related information; and reactions to front-of-pack warnings, in terms of product appeal, social acceptability, and cognitive and behavioural impact. The research team asked the group, who all identified as current drinkers, to complete an online survey and experiment between September and October 2020.
Most participants (59.9%) reported ‘always’, ‘often’ or ‘sometimes’ seeing health-related information, messages or warnings on alcohol packaging, with 40.1% saying they ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ did. The majority (69.9%) said they ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ read or looked closely at such information.
Participants largely supported displaying a range of product and health-related information on packaging, such as units, ingredients, drinking guidelines and calories.
“It is unsurprising that most participants reported not reading or looking closely at health-related information on packaging, as previous research, including studies in the UK, have suggested that current messaging is unlikely to meaningfully engage or inform consumers, for example through ambiguous messaging or small fonts positioned on the back of packs,” Mr Jones said.
To compare the perceived impact of health warning designs, participants were randomly allocated to a group and shown a vodka bottle containing either no warnings or front-of-pack small text warnings, large text warnings, or pictorial warnings. The warning sets included a general message stating ‘Alcohol damages your health’ and two specific warnings, ‘Alcohol causes liver disease’ and ‘Alcohol causes mouth cancer’. Those in the pictorial warnings group were shown images that reflected each warning – a blood pressure test, an image of a person clutching their liver, and an image of a CT scanner in a hospital.
Participants who viewed products with warnings were significantly more likely to perceive the products as unappealing and socially unacceptable, compared to those who viewed products without such a warning. Those who viewed products with warnings were also significantly more likely to report positive cognitive and behavioural impacts, such as increased awareness of health risks and wanting to drink less alcohol, compared to those who did not.
Mr Jones said: “This sample of young adult drinkers were influenced by warnings on alcohol packaging. As expected, participants who viewed the product with no warnings had the highest social appeal and acceptability ratings for the alcohol product shown, and the lowest reported impact on cognition and behaviour.
“Larger warnings – with or without an image – were particularly effective in reducing product appeal and social acceptability. This supports previous research which indicates that prominent warnings on alcohol packaging may help capture attention, counteract positive product perceptions and reduce consumption intentions.
“Surprisingly, we did not find statistically significant differences between warning designs in terms of positively impacting cognitions and behaviours. This contrasts with tobacco where we know larger warnings with images are more effective at positively influencing smoking-related thoughts and behaviours, compared to smaller, text-only warnings. Moreover, the sample size was modest and the images used in the study were somewhat benign. Other alcohol and tobacco studies suggest that more severe images can evoke stronger reactions from consumers and may have a greater impact on cognitions and behaviours.”
He added: “Salient warnings with specific health-related messages, as used in our study, can positively influence consumer attention, comprehension, recall, judgement and behavioural compliance.”
Alison Douglas, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland said, “It’s vitally important that we have all the facts to make informed choices, yet because of bizarre exemptions from food and drink labelling rules there is more information required on a pint of milk than a bottle of wine. At present, the alcohol industry can decide what information it will and won’t include on its products. This study shows that health information and warnings could be useful in reducing how much we drink, and that people want information about what it is in their drinks provided on products where it can usefully inform their decisions.
“We need the Chief Medical Officers’ low-risk weekly drinking guidelines as well as health information and warnings on labels, but unless labelling requirements are set out in law, we will continue to be kept in the dark about what is in our drinks.”
Mr Jones was supported on the research by Stirling colleagues Dr Crawford Moodie, Dr Richard Purves, Professor Niamh Fitzgerald, and Dr Rachel Crockett.
The paper, 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, is published in Drug and Alcohol Review.