Western Australia: A recent study conducted to study whether a specific combination of ‘why to lose’ and ‘how to lose’ messages could be useful in promoting good health in a population has revealed some results on messages related to alcohol consumption.
While, drinking too much alcohol does not lead to cancer, heavy consumption of alcohol has been linked to many problems, including premature death, heart disease, digestive problems, and an increased risk of dementia.
We found that pairing information about alcohol and cancer with a particular practical action – counting their drinks – resulted in drinkers reducing the amount of alcohol they consumed.
Economist and Psychologist Mr. Simone Pettigrew from The George Institute for Global Health, observed while sharing about the study.
According to the researchers, three surveys were completed: 7,995 people completed the first, of which 4,588 completed the second three weeks later, and 2,687 completed the final survey after another three weeks. Participants were divided into different groups and shown different advertisements and messages about alcohol.
One combination stood out compared to a control group. a TV advertisement linking alcohol and cancer with a suggestion to keep their number of drinks down was one of the most effective at getting people to cut down on alcohol. It was also the only combination in which people significantly reduced their alcohol consumption within six weeks.
Other approaches, encouraging people to decide on several drinks and then stick with them, prompted some volunteers to try and cut back, but there was a clear winner based on the people taking part in this research.
“Many people don’t know that alcohol is a carcinogen, its important information that drinkers should have access to. But telling people alcohol causes cancer is just part of the solution – we also need to give them ways to take action to reduce their risk.” Mr. Pettigrew observed.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), alcohol accounts for 7 percent of premature deaths worldwide, and making drinkers more aware of the health risks is one way to tackle that problem.