It\u27s not just researchers who need a new agenda

An extensive review of alcohol policy published in the Lancet concluded that: ‘Making alcohol more expensive and less available, and banning alcohol advertising, are highly cost effective strategies to reduce harm’. Unfortunately, calls to ban or restrict alcohol advertising (such as calls to increase price) have been rejected by governments in most countries. Thus, as Meier states, there is a need to provide evidence of the effects of alcohol advertising on young people in order to encourage the government to take action to reduce, or eliminate, the most harmful forms of alcohol promotion (which may, or may not, be ‘advertising’ per se

A review of the consistency of pamphlets promoting mammographic screening in Australia

Breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women in Australia and the most common cause of cancer death in Australian women. Early detection of breast cancers with mammography has the potential to dramatically reduce mortality rates. Thus, there is an obvious need for clear, accurate information about breast cancer screening to be disseminated to Australian women. A 1997 review of breast cancer screening pamphlets in Australia noted some inconsistencies in the nature and content of the information provided, and recommended that these be addressed. The current study, conducted in January 2001, examined whether consistency has improved since the 1997 review. A total of 35 items were identified which met the inclusion criteria. These were reviewed for consistency across five specific content areas. The materials were largely consistent in their coverage of causes, risk factors, and screening information. However, considerable inconsistencies were identified for the estimated lifetime risk of developing breast cancer and for symptoms of breast cancer. These inconsistencies are disturbing because they appear in the two areas where accurate information is most likely to contribute to increased screening, detection and treatment of breast cancer

A pilot study investigating of the nature of point-of-sale alcohol promotions in bottle shops in a large Australian regional city

Objective: The promotion of alcohol by retailers and media can contribute to a culture of excessive alcohol consumption, but the effect of non-advertising alcohol promotions has largely been neglected. This study sought to gather initial data on this important area.Method: An observational study of alcohol point-of-sale promotions in the Wollongong CBD area, conducted in July-August 2005.Results: We identified 17 different promotions in three categories: gift with purchase; competitions; and buy some, get some free.Conclusions: Given previous research demonstrating the relationship between increased alcohol consumption and both ownership of alcohol-related merchandise and reduced per unit price, it appears that point-of-sale promotions may have the potential to further increase alcohol consumption among young people.Implications: Only when the extent and impact of such promotions is demonstrated will we be in a position to effectively advocate for appropriate regulations to ensure young people are not exposed to marketing strategies that further increase their exposure to alcohol-related harms

Who\u27s saying what about food advertising to children?

Both Australian and worldwide authorities differ on how the issue of childhood obesity should be tackled. Some call for a junk food tax and restrictions on fast food advertising while others supported initiatives to encourage people to walk and cycle more. This paper examines the Australian media dialogue concerned with food advertising and children presented in the fIrst six months of 2005; identifying the key spokespeople for each side of the debate and the main platforms of their arguments; and making recommendations for social marketing practice

Regulation of alcohol advertising: Policy options for Australia

A systematic search of academic databases was conducted to identify all refereed papers published between 1990 and 2012 on the regulation of alcohol advertising in Australia and three comparison countries (New Zealand, Canada and the UK). This paper reviews the codes that apply to alcohol advertising in each of the four countries, research into the effectiveness of these codes, and the small body of research into consumer attitudes towards alcohol advertising regulation. This review adduces considerable evidence that alcohol advertising influences drinking behaviours, and that current regulatory systems based on co-regulation and voluntary regulation (as is the case in Australia) are ineffective. Recommendations are provided regarding the three pillars of regulation: volume restrictions, content restrictions, and infrastructure to support the regulatory environment

POP promotions for alcolhol: increasing brand loyalty or just increasing binge drinking?

The consumption of alcohol by young Australians in general, and at risky levels has increased. University students, as part of this group, display consistent and increasing risky drinking patterns. One key area of interest in understanding this situation is the use of alcohol advertising and marketing. Of particular interest to this research is the use of point-of-purchase promotions in licensed venues and the impact they may have on consumption. In order to help understand these promotions, focus groups were conducted with male university students between the age of 18 and 24 years from the University of Wollongong. Overall, the perception of these promotions was that they encouraged male university students to drink at risky levels. Many respondents reported increasing their own personal drinking levels to participate in a promotion and participants would generally consume the desired amount in the one sitting, rather than over several

Health warning labels on alcohol products - the views of Australian university students

While Australian legislation does not currently require health warning labels on alcohol products, several medical and advocacy organisations have been campaigning for their mandatory inclusion. The current study examines the attitudes and opinions of university students (a particularly high risk group) relating to these messages, and the likelihood of such labeling influencing personal behaviours, in order to establish whether the introduction of these labels is likely to be effective. Alcohol warning labels have the potential to influence behaviours of adolescents and young adults, especially if modifications are made to the content and format of these – suggestions are given in this paper. Finally, results of this research indicate that such health messages must be integrated with other educational measures and strategies aiming to internalise alcohol risk information by changing beliefs and, ultimately, behaviours

What influences Australian women to not drink during pregnancy?

There is a strong social norm against consuming alcohol during pregnancy. However, many women do not realise they are pregnant until the sixth week and are not provided with information about the risks of consuming alcohol until they visit a health professional in the second trimester. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 12 midwives and 12 pregnant women from two regions inNSWin 2008–09 to explore attitudes towards alcohol consumption during pregnancy, and the factors that may encourage or inhibit women from following the recommendation to abstain from drinking while pregnant. Both groups noted the social issues around pregnant women consuming alcohol due to perceived social norms and the challenges in not revealing early pregnancy status at social events

Believability and effectiveness of young adult safe-drinking messages

This study investigates eight safe-drinking messages, using appeals to the ‘self’ versus appeals about ‘others’, in combination with either a low or high physical threat, or a low or high social threat. The participants were18-25 year old second-year university marketing students. An experimental design was used for data collection, which involved 196 participants, with the groups comprised of participants with homogenous demographic characteristics and drinking behaviour. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test the believability and effectiveness of the messages. It was determined that messages about ‘others’ were perceived as more believable and effective than the corresponding appeals used to the ‘self’. In addition, physical threats were more believable and effective than social threats, and low level threats were more believable than high level threats

Saving lives or raising revenue: Analysing media coverage of the alcopops tax in light of the evidence on its effects

The Australian Government increased the tax on ready-to-drink (RTD) alcohol beverages in 2008, in order to address concerns about increasing alcohol consumption among young people. This decision resulted in significant debate and discussion in the media, and in academic circles. The aim of the current study was to examine media coverage of the debate – and particularly the arguments posed in favour of and against the tax – now that we have objective evidence of its impact. We find that business owners and industry groups were vocal in the media, raising a number of arguments in opposition to the tax; and that this opposition dominated media coverage, potentially misleading consumers as to the rationale for, and effectiveness of, the „alcopop tax‟