Premium
Long‐term effects of alcohol warning labels: Findings from a comparison of the United States and Ontario, Canada
Author(s) -
Greenfield Thomas K.,
Graves Karen L.,
Kaskutas Lee A.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
psychology and marketing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.035
H-Index - 116
eISSN - 1520-6793
pISSN - 0742-6046
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1520-6793(199905)16:3<261::aid-mar5>3.0.co;2-z
Subject(s) - environmental health , limiting , psychology , government (linguistics) , public health , demography , social psychology , medicine , engineering , sociology , mechanical engineering , philosophy , linguistics , nursing
Since 1989 the U.S. federal government has required warnings on alcohol containers. Findings are presented from telephone surveys conducted between 1990 and 1994 in the U.S. and Ontario, Canada, the no‐treatment reference site. In the U.S., penetration peaked in 1993–94, with 43% of the lifetime drinkers reporting label awareness. Label exposure was weaker (<20%) for all years in the reference site. The proportion reporting conversations about drinking during pregnancy was higher among label seers in both sites. Those seeing labels in the U.S. were more likely to engage in conversations about drinking and driving than those not seeing. Reports of limiting drinking for health reasons showed a positive association with label exposure increasing with time. In the U.S. only, across all years, controlling for age, gender, education, and alcohol consumption, label seers were more likely to drive after drinking too much, but also to say they had deliberately not driven after drinking during the last year. Findings from this quasi‐experiment cannot establish causal relationships, but the pattern of results, though mixed, suggests modest effects on conversations and several precautionary behaviors related to risks of drinking. The label's effects may partially offset an overall trend toward lower public concern about health risks of alcohol. Results are interpreted as consistent with Congressional intent to remind people of certain hazards of drinking, especially during pregnancy or before driving vehicles. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.