Impacts of Alcohol Warning Labels: An Online Experiment

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Alcohol Drinking
• Interventions: Behavioral: Liver Cancer; Behavioral: Throat and Mouth Cancer; Behavioral: Colorectal Cancer; Behavioral: Multiple Cancers; Behavioral: Liver Disease; Behavioral: Hypertension; Behavioral: Dementia; Behavioral: Drinking Guidelines; Behavioral: Current Warning; Behavioral: Control

• Registration Number: NCT06442800
• Lead Sponsor: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Brief Summary

The goal of this experiment is to examine responses to alcohol warning messages about 10 different topics among US adult alcohol consumers. The main questions this experiment aims to answer are:

Which warning topics make alcohol consumers in the US want to drink less alcohol? Which warning topics remind alcohol consumers in the US of alcohol's harms? Which warning topics help alcohol consumers in the US learn something new? There will be a total of 20 alcohol messages, 2 messages for each of the 10 topics. For each topic, participants will be randomly assigned to 1 of the 2 messages so that they view a total of 10 alcohol messages. All 10 messages will be shown in random order. Participants will rate each message on how much it makes them want to drink less alcohol, reminds them that drinking can be harmful, and teaches them something new.

Detailed Description

This study aims to determine which topics in alcohol warning labels are most effective at making US adults who consume alcohol want to drink less alcohol, which topics best remind consumers of alcohol's harms, and which topics are most likely to teach consumers something new. The survey research company NORC at the University of Chicago will recruit a sample of 1,000 US adults ages 21+ who consumed alcohol at least one time per week during the past 4 weeks.

Participants will complete a within-subjects online randomized experiment in which they view and rate messages shown on alcohol containers. Participants will rate each message on perceived message effectiveness (primary outcome), reminding of alcohol's harms (secondary outcome), and learning something new (secondary outcome). These tasks will be repeated for 10 messages, each with a different topic. There will be 9 warning topics (i.e., topics about alcohol's harms) and 1 control topic (i.e., neutral topic not about alcohol's harms). In this within-subjects experiment, the survey will present the topics in random order and participants will view 1 of 2 messages for each topic.

Study Timeline

• Status Verified: 2024-05
• Study First Submitted: 2024-05-30
• Study First Submitted QC: 2024-05-30
• Study First Posted: 2024-06-04
• Study Start: 2024-09-25
• Primary Completion: 2024-10-14
• Study Completion: 2024-10-14
• Last Update Submitted: 2024-12-10
• Last Update Posted: 2024-12-16

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 1123

Inclusion Criteria

• Age 21 and older
• Reside in the United States
• Able to complete a survey in English
• Consumed alcohol at least once per week during the past 4 weeks

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Exclusion Criteria

• Under the age of 21
• Reside outside of the United States
• Unable to complete a survey in English
• Consumed alcohol less than once per week during the past 4 weeks

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Alcohol Messages	Liver Cancer	Participants will view and rate 10 messages shown on alcohol containers.
Alcohol Messages	Liver Disease	Participants will view and rate 10 messages shown on alcohol containers.
Alcohol Messages	Colorectal Cancer	Participants will view and rate 10 messages shown on alcohol containers.
Alcohol Messages	Dementia	Participants will view and rate 10 messages shown on alcohol containers.
Alcohol Messages	Throat and Mouth Cancer	Participants will view and rate 10 messages shown on alcohol containers.
Alcohol Messages	Multiple Cancers	Participants will view and rate 10 messages shown on alcohol containers.
Alcohol Messages	Hypertension	Participants will view and rate 10 messages shown on alcohol containers.
Alcohol Messages	Drinking Guidelines	Participants will view and rate 10 messages shown on alcohol containers.
Alcohol Messages	Current Warning	Participants will view and rate 10 messages shown on alcohol containers.
Alcohol Messages	Control	Participants will view and rate 10 messages shown on alcohol containers.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Perceived message effectiveness	Assessed during one-time 15-minute online study survey	The study will assess perceived message effectiveness using 1 item: "How much does this message make you want to drink less alcohol?" Response options will range from "not at all" (coded as 1) to "a great deal" (coded as 5). Higher scores indicate more perceived message effectiveness.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Learning something new	Assessed during one-time 15-minute online study survey	The study will assess learning something new with 1 item: "Did you learn something new from this message?" Response options will be yes (1) and no (0).
Reminding of alcohol's harms	Assessed during one-time 15-minute online study survey	The study will assess reminding of alcohol's harms using 1 item: "How much does this message remind you that drinking alcohol can be harmful?" Response options will range from not at all (1) to a great deal (5). Higher scores indicate greater reminding of alcohol's harms.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University of North Carolina; 🇺🇸 Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States