TY - JOUR
T1 - Image-and-text health warning labels on alcohol and food
T2 - Potential effectiveness and acceptability
AU - Pechey, Emily
AU - Clarke, Natasha
AU - Mantzari, Eleni
AU - Blackwell, Anna K.M.
AU - De-Loyde, Katie
AU - Morris, Richard W.
AU - Marteau, Theresa M.
AU - Hollands, Gareth J.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was funded by a Collaborative Award in Science from Wellcome Trust (Behaviour Change by Design: 206853/Z/17/Z: PIs: Theresa Marteau, Paul Fletcher, Gareth Hollands and Marcus Munafò). The funders were not involved in designing the study, the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data, or in writing the manuscript. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of Wellcome Trust.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s).
PY - 2020/4/2
Y1 - 2020/4/2
N2 - Background: Health warning labels (HWLs) using images and text to depict the negative health consequences of tobacco consumption are effective and acceptable for changing smoking-related outcomes. There is currently limited evidence concerning their potential use for reducing consumption of alcoholic drinks and energy-dense foods. The aim of this research was to describe the potential effectiveness and acceptability of image-and-text (also known as pictorial or graphic) HWLs applied to: i. alcoholic drinks and ii. energy-dense snack foods. Methods: Two online studies were conducted using between-subjects designs with general population samples. Participants rated one of 21 image-and-text HWLs on alcoholic drinks (n = 5528), or one of 18 image-and-text HWLs on energy-dense snacks (n = 4618). HWLs comprised a graphic image with explanatory text, depicting, respectively, seven diseases linked to excess alcohol consumption, and six diseases linked to excess energy intake. Diseases included heart disease and various cancers. Outcomes were negative emotional arousal, desire to consume the labelled product, and acceptability of the label. Free-text comments relating to HWLs were content analysed. Results: For both alcoholic drinks and energy-dense snacks, HWLs depicting bowel cancer generated the highest levels of negative emotional arousal and lowest desire to consume the product, but were the least acceptable. Acceptability was generally low for HWLs applied to alcohol, with 3 of 21 rated as acceptable, and was generally high for snacks, with 13 of 18 rated as acceptable. The majority of free-text comments expressed negative reactions to HWLs on alcohol or energy-dense snacks. Conclusions: Image-and-text health warning labels depicting bowel cancer showed greatest potential for reducing selection and consumption of alcoholic drinks and energy-dense snacks, although they were the least acceptable. Laboratory and field studies are needed to assess their impact on selection and consumption.
AB - Background: Health warning labels (HWLs) using images and text to depict the negative health consequences of tobacco consumption are effective and acceptable for changing smoking-related outcomes. There is currently limited evidence concerning their potential use for reducing consumption of alcoholic drinks and energy-dense foods. The aim of this research was to describe the potential effectiveness and acceptability of image-and-text (also known as pictorial or graphic) HWLs applied to: i. alcoholic drinks and ii. energy-dense snack foods. Methods: Two online studies were conducted using between-subjects designs with general population samples. Participants rated one of 21 image-and-text HWLs on alcoholic drinks (n = 5528), or one of 18 image-and-text HWLs on energy-dense snacks (n = 4618). HWLs comprised a graphic image with explanatory text, depicting, respectively, seven diseases linked to excess alcohol consumption, and six diseases linked to excess energy intake. Diseases included heart disease and various cancers. Outcomes were negative emotional arousal, desire to consume the labelled product, and acceptability of the label. Free-text comments relating to HWLs were content analysed. Results: For both alcoholic drinks and energy-dense snacks, HWLs depicting bowel cancer generated the highest levels of negative emotional arousal and lowest desire to consume the product, but were the least acceptable. Acceptability was generally low for HWLs applied to alcohol, with 3 of 21 rated as acceptable, and was generally high for snacks, with 13 of 18 rated as acceptable. The majority of free-text comments expressed negative reactions to HWLs on alcohol or energy-dense snacks. Conclusions: Image-and-text health warning labels depicting bowel cancer showed greatest potential for reducing selection and consumption of alcoholic drinks and energy-dense snacks, although they were the least acceptable. Laboratory and field studies are needed to assess their impact on selection and consumption.
KW - Alcohol
KW - Cancer
KW - Food
KW - Graphic health warning labels
KW - Image-and-text warning labels
KW - Pictorial health warning labels
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85082812470&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s12889-020-8403-8
DO - 10.1186/s12889-020-8403-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 32238154
AN - SCOPUS:85082812470
SN - 1471-2458
VL - 20
JO - BMC Public Health
JF - BMC Public Health
IS - 1
M1 - 376
ER -
