Alcohol advertising: the last chance saloon

Research has established that alcohol advertising,1-3 like that for tobacco4 and fast food,5-7 influences behaviour. It encourages young people to drink alcohol sooner and in greater quantities. From a public health perspective, advertising of alcohol should clearly be limited. The United Kingdom has opted for a system of self regulatory controls that focuses primarily on the content of advertisements, with some limitations on the channels that can be used. This is overseen by the Advertising Standards Authority, through the Committee of Advertising Practice, which represents the interests of advertisers, agencies, and media owners.As part of its alcohol inquiry, the House of Commons health select committee wanted to explore the success of self regulation. It obtained a large number of internal marketing documents from alcohol producers and their communications agencies in order to examine the thinking and strategic planning that underpin alcohol advertising and hence show not just what advertisers are saying, but why they are saying it. Here we present the key insights to emerge

Making hospital shops healthier:evaluating the implementation of a mandatory standard for limiting food products and promotions in hospital retail outlets

Background The range of products stocked and their promotions in food retail outlets in healthcare settings can affect food choices by staff, patients and visitors. The innovative Scottish Healthcare Retail Standard (HRS) is a national mandatory scheme requiring all hospital food retail outlets to change the balance of food products stocked and their promotion to comply with nutritional criteria and promotional restrictions. The aim is to facilitate healthier food choices in healthcare settings. This study examined the implementation of HRS and the impact on foods stocked and promoted. Methods The study aimed to examine implementation process and changes to the retail environment in relation to food promotions and choice. A sample of hospital retail outlets (n=17) including shops and trolley services were surveyed using a mixed methods design comprising: (a) structured observational audits of stock, layout and promotions (with a specific focus on chocolate and fruit product lines, and) (b) face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with the shop manager or nominated members of staff (n=32). Data were collected at Wave 1 (2016), at the beginning and during the early stages of HRS implementation; and Wave 2, 12 months later, after the HRS implementation deadline. Results All outlets, both commercial and not-for-profit, in the sample successfully implemented HRS. Implementation was reported to be more challenging by independent shop managers compared to chain store staff. Retail managers identified areas where more implementation guidance and support could have been provided. The number of chocolate product lines and promotions reduced substantially between Waves 1 and 2, but with no substantial increase in fruit product lines and promotions. Despite initial negative expectations of HRS’s impact, managers identified some opportunities in the scheme and positive changes in the supply chain. Conclusions Positive changes in food retail outlets occurred after hospital shops were required to implement HRS. By creating a consistent approach across hospital shops in Scotland, HRS changed the food retail environment for hospital staff, visitors and patients. HRS provides a regulatory template and implementation learning points for influencing retail environments in other jurisdictions and settings

"I Wouldn't Be Friends with Someone If They Were Liking Too Much Rubbish": A Qualitative Study of Alcohol Brands, Youth Identity and Social Media

The consumption of alcohol by young people remains a major public health concern at both the national and international level. Levels of drinking among 15‐year olds in the United Kingdom (UK) remain significantly higher than the European average. This study explored how alcohol brands are used by young people to develop their desired identities and how these acts of consumption extend to young people's profiles on social media. It also deepens understanding of how alcohol brands are connected to young peoples' concerns about image and peer group dynamics. This involved qualitative focus groups with young people aged 14-7 in Central Scotland. Certain alcohol brands were approved and viewed as socially acceptable by young people, while others were rejected. Children as young as 14 were selecting products to portray a drinking identity that was appropriately aligned to their gender and sexuality. Participants displayed a desire to associate themselves with the mature drinking culture personified by some brands, whilst simultaneously distancing themselves from immature drinking practices associated with others. Publicly associating with alcohol brands on social media carried with it potential risks to peer group acceptance. Understanding how young people perceive alcohol brands, the importance of social media in communicating that identity to their peers and the role that alcohol brands play in adolescent identity formation is an important first step to reforming alcohol marketing regulations

What do the public really feel about non-custodial penalties?

This paper looks at the feelings people have about prison and non-custodial sentences. Drawing on work conducted by the Centre for Social Marketing at the University of Strathclyde, it focusses specifically on how the public responds to seven key arguments that are often deployed to promote acceptance of increased use of non-custodial sentences

"What are you meant to do when you see it everywhere?": Young people, alcohol packaging and digital media

The consumption of alcohol plays an important part in the way in which people create identities and live their social lives. Alcohol brands become embedded in everyday life through marketing practices, and this is amplified by an increase in new technologies that facilitate the transference of marketing messages. This research explores how alcohol brands use social networking sites (SNS) and packaging as part of their repertoire of marketing activities, and how users respond to these activities

UK government's delay on plain tobacco packaging: how much evidence is enough?

First paragraph: In the wake of the UK government's announcement on 12 July that its decision on plain (standardised) tobacco packaging would be delayed until evidence emerged from Australia, Wakefield and colleagues report timely findings from a study exploring the early effects of plain packaging in Victoria.1 2 Conducted during the phase-in period, when plain and branded packs were concurrently on sale, the study found that smokers who used plain packs were more likely than smokers who used fully branded packs to perceive their cigarettes to be less satisfying and poorer quality, were more supportive of plain packaging, and were more likely to think about and to prioritise quitting

A systematic review of research exploring the response of consumers, retailers and tobacco companies to standardised packaging in the United Kingdom

Introduction The UK fully implemented standardised packaging for cigarettes and rolling tobacco in May 2017, after a twelve month transition period. We conducted a systematic review of published research exploring consumer, tobacco company and retail response to this policy. Methods We searched for peer-reviewed published studies which explored consumer, retailer or tobacco company response to standardised packaging in the UK. Studies were screened against inclusion criteria. Data from included studies were extracted into standardised forms and each study was critically appraised. Findings were reported by narrative synthesis. Results Eleven papers, reporting on ten studies, were included, with five studies examining consumer responses to standardised packaging, and five studies exploring the response of tobacco companies and changes in the retail environment. In three consumer studies standardised packaging was associated with increased warning salience, but there was limited evidence of the impacts on smoking behaviour. Evidence from tobacco company and retail studies showed that standardised packs were not widely available until late in the transition period, although compliance with the legislation was high. Tobacco prices, for rolling tobacco and for cigarettes in each price segment (premium, mid-price, value), increased from May 2016 to October 2017. Discussion Standardised packaging appears to have increased warning salience but there is a need for research, after it was fully implemented, on perceptions of appeal and harm, behavioural impact, and unintended consequences, if any. Possible pack, price and retail related policy options are discussed

Plain tobacco packaging research: An update

This briefing paper provides an update on research published between August 2011 and mid-September 2013 since the 2012 systematic review of plain tobacco packaging was released (Moodie et al. 2012)

Evidence Review: Social Marketing for the Prevention and Control of Communicable Disease

Background: Social marketing is the application of marketing theories and techniques to the planning, implementation, and evaluation of programmes and interventions to influence pro-social voluntary behaviour change in order to improve personal welfare, and the welfare of society. Objectives: To provide an evidence-based summary of social marketing for the prevention and control of communicable disease, with particular reference to the European context. Methods: A review of reviews was conducted to examine the international evidence base. An extensive search of databases was carried out to identify relevant English language systematic reviews published from 2000 to 2011. Inclusion criteria were that reviews were systematic, the substantive focus was social marketing, and at least a quarter of included studies related to the prevention and control of communicable diseases. Thematic analysis was used to identify intervention input and output variables and examine their association with measured change in behaviour or behaviour determinants. All individual studies included in the systematic reviews that reported on European interventions for the prevention and control of communicable disease were identified, analysed and described in more detail to provide insight on European-specific good practice. Findings: Five international systematic reviews and three individual European social marketing interventions were identified for inclusion. A narrative summary of learning from the systematic reviews and individual social marketing interventions described and discussed: conceptual clarity; consumer orientation; context; social marketing mix (product, price, place, promotion); strategic and long-term planning (policy, partnerships); implementation; knowledge and attitudes; behaviour change; social environment change; and changes in health status. Conclusions: The international evidence base indicates that social marketing can be an effective approach to behaviour change for the prevention and control of communicable disease. The European evidence is limited, but promising, with social marketing principles having been successfully applied in hand hygiene and sexual health interventions. There appears to be a lack of conceptual clarity on what constitutes social marketing, its purpose and scope. Improved understanding and practice through training and efforts to promote shared learning would enhance its utility and effectiveness. Promotion appears to be the best recognised and/or most commonly employed component of the social marketing mix and there is limited recognition of other social marketing techniques and strategies, such as competitive analysis to identify and modify barriers, the role of segmentation to reach priority targets such as disadvantaged groups, and policy in support of social marketing. Insights for policy and practice: The evidence indicates that audience-informed intervention design and development, partnership-based interventions, and sharing of lessons learnt from previous practice can enhance effectiveness of social marketing for communicable disease prevention and control. Conducting formative research as standard practice improves design and development of interventions and programmes. More emphasis in intervention, design, evaluation on contextual factors, and on all components of the marketing mix (not just promotion) will contribute to future development of policy and practice. More rigorous and extensive process and impact evaluations and detailed reporting of implementation could also make a useful contribution to the future development of policy and practice. It is recommended that greater priority is given to resourcing long-term interventions and programmes, and less on short-term and brief interventions