Health warning labels on alcohol and snacks may reduce consumption

Image-and-text health warning labels, similar to those on cigarette boxes, show potential for reducing the consumption of alcoholic drinks and energy-dense snacks, such as chocolate bars, according to a study published in the journal BMC Public Health.

A team of researchers in the United Kingdom conducted two online studies with separate participants, asking them to rate different image-and-text health warning labels (HWLs) on alcoholic drinks (5,528 participants) or energy-dense snacks (4,618 participants).

The authors found that HWLs on alcoholic drinks depicting bowel cancer, followed by those depicting liver cancer were associated with the highest level of negative emotions—fear, disgust, discomfort, and worry—and the lowest desire to consume the product. They were also considered the least acceptable for use by the study participants. In general, few of the alcohol HWLs were considered acceptable, with only three out of 21 rated at least somewhat acceptable.

HWLs on high-density snacks depicting bowel cancer, followed by those depicting non-specific cancer were associated with the highest level of negative emotions and lowest desire to consume the product, with those depicting bowel cancer considered to be the least acceptable. HWLs on energy-dense snacks were judged on average more acceptable than those on alcohol, with 13 out of 18 snack HWLs rated as at least somewhat acceptable.

The authors suggest that the response to labels depicting bowel cancer HWLs may indicate those that have the greatest potential for reducing alcohol and snack food selection and consumption.

“The finding that health warning labels may be judged to be relatively more acceptable to use on snack foods than on alcohol could be due to heightened public awareness of the health consequences of excess energy intake and obesity, particularly in children,” said Gareth Hollands, a senior research associate in the Behavior and Health Research Unit at the University of Cambridge, in a press release. “In general, however, many of the participants expressed negative views of the possible use of such labels.”