Half of young drinkers are unaware of health messages on packaging

PanARMENIAN.Net - Just half of 11-19 year old drinkers recall seeing health messages or warnings on alcohol packaging -- despite being an important target market for this information, Science Daily reports citing new research.

Published in the Journal of Public Health, the research -- led by the University of Stirling and the Cancer Policy Research Centre at Cancer Research UK -- investigated to what extent 11-19 year olds in the UK were aware of product information, health messaging or warnings on alcohol packaging during the previous month.

The research team found that, of those who identified themselves as 'current drinkers', just half had recalled seeing such information -- and that fell to just one third of the entire age group, regardless of their current drinking status.

It is the first study to examine awareness and recall of such messaging in a large and demographically representative sample of young people across the UK -- and experts believe the findings will support the debate around the design, effectiveness, and regulation of alcohol labelling in the UK.

Dr Nathan Critchlow, Research Fellow in Stirling's Institute for Social Marketing (ISM), led the study. He said: "In the UK and internationally, there are frequent calls to increase the visibility, comprehension and effectiveness of labelling on alcohol packaging. In particular, critics often point to the statutory steps taken for nutritional labelling on food and drinks, or health warnings and messaging on tobacco products, and ask why alcohol labelling -- which is self-regulated by the industry -- is not as progressive.

"The Scottish Government has also included a commitment in their latest strategy to consider mandatory labelling if the alcohol industry does not improve visibility and clarity by September 2019, while the Republic of Ireland already have plans to introduce similar legislation.

"Our latest research provides a timely and unique insight that will help inform these debates."

Dr Critchlow carried out the study with ISM colleagues Dr Crawford Moodie, Dr Niamh Fitzgerald, Anne Marie MacKintosh and Daniel Jones, alongside Chris Thomas, Jyotsna Vohra, and Lucie Hooper, of the Cancer Policy Research Centre at Cancer Research UK.

The study used data from the 2017 Youth Alcohol Policy Survey -- a cross-sectional, YouGov-conducted survey with 11 to 19-year-olds across the UK. Participants were asked whether they had seen any product information, health messages or warnings on alcohol packaging in the past month and, if so, what messages they recalled. This age group is particularly important as exposure to clear and effective messaging during their formative drinking experiences may have a sustained impact on alcohol-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviour.