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Standalone mass-media campaigns for alcohol consumption
Summary of the evidence
Overall, standalone mass-media campaigns for alcohol consumption were found to be ineffective in a narrative review (Wakefield 2010) based on the following outcomes:
- warnings on drinks bottles, as a standalone measure have no effect on alcohol consumption. Campaigns to lessen alcohol intake have had little success. Most have been targeted towards young people but the potential effects have generally been overshadowed by widespread unrestricted alcohol marketing strategies and the view of drinking as a social norm.
- safe drinking campaigns sponsored by alcohol companies have been ineffective in changing drinking behaviour, because the messages are viewed as ambiguous by recipients
