A worldwide study has found that cigarette-style warnings on alcohol labels could lead to people changing their drinking habits.
Led by Glasgow Caledonian University (GCU) alongside the University of Stirling, the researchers are now calling for clear health warnings on all alcohol labels to be made mandatory.
Currently, alcohol labelling in the UK is based on voluntary agreements between the government and alcohol industry. Labels are expected to include information on units, the chief medical officer’s low risk drinking guidelines and advice on drinking during pregnancy – however, these are not mandatory or regulated.
The work by the universities analysed 71 different research studies published around the world and identified several ways in which alcohol warning labels could be used to effectively raise awareness of alcohol-related harms and reduce consumption.
It was found that the use of large, colour labels on the front of alcohol products increases label visibility and message salience. Further to this is that any health warnings that focus on short-term alcohol-related risks and link to alcohol specific diseases – such as cancer – are more likely to raise awareness of the harms of drinking and thus prompt people to consider drinking less. Explicit, negatively framed statements ‘might’ also motivate people to drink less – particularly if they contain the phrase ‘health warning’.
GCU said that the findings will be ‘key’ to informing the Scottish Government’s decision making on labelling and provide evidence to the UK Government’s consultation expected later this summer.
Dr Dimova, from the substance use research group in GCU’s Research Centre for Health (ReaCH), said, “Alcohol labels provide a high reach and direct opportunity to help people make informed decisions about what they purchase and consume, in addition to increasing awareness and knowledge of alcohol related harms. There is a need to introduce mandatory information for alcohol labels, including health warnings covering a range of health harms caused by alcohol consumption and nutritional information. In doing so, it recognises the consumers’ right to be fully informed at the point of consumption.
“Experimental research shows alcohol labels are effective in influencing consumers’ behaviour but little is known whether findings are applicable to real world settings. Recent real-world studies in Canada show that carefully designed labels can increase people’s awareness of drinking guidelines and alcohol-related harm, and lead to a decrease in the population’s alcohol consumption.”
Alison Douglas, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, which funded the study, said, “We need reliable health information directly on bottles and cans, where it can usefully inform our decisions. Better alcohol labelling would allow people to make informed decisions about the products they purchase and drink. To be effective this information needs to be visible and presented in a clear way. People both want and deserve to know what is in their drinks and industry has demonstrated that they won’t do this voluntarily.”
