Alcohol labelling: Do you know what you're drinking?
Background
Approximately one in ten cases of ill-health or death in England can be attributed to alcohol. However, unlike for food, sugary drinks and tobacco, there is limited information available about what is in alcoholic drinks or their potential harm.
The EU are currently considering plans for an updated Alcohol Strategy (2016-2022) to reduce alcohol-related harm. Plans include adding health-related information, units and calories on drinks labels to ensure people can make informed choices and encourage healthier drinking.
Studies at TARG
Two TARG grants are investigating the impact of alcohol labelling on behaviour. Dr Angela Attwood secured funding from the MRC Public Health Intervention Development Scheme (PHIND) and Dr Olivia Maynard secured funding from Alcohol Research UK (ARUK). These grants aim to investigate:
- What information should be provided to consumers
- Who is likely to respond to different messages
- How messages can be delivered in innovative ways
Find out more and have your say on our project website.
Our new animated video explores how technology could be used to help us understand how much we are drinking and think about the health impacts of alcohol. Get in touch via email, Twitter or Facebook
There will be opportunities to get involved in online surveys, focus groups and experiments between July 2016 and December 2017. If you would like to be kept informed about these grants, subscribe to the TARG newsletter, sign up to be invited to participate in the studies we will be running and/or contact us via email.
News and events
August 2017: We are looking for alcohol drinkers to take part in focus groups (September-December 2017) in Bristol to discuss alcohol labelling.
You can take part if you: are aged 18 or over, drink at least 10 units per week (approx. four pints of beer or glasses of wine), are fluent in English and no not have a past or current alcohol disorder.
Groups will last approx. 90 minutes and you will be reimbursed for your time (£25 plus travel up to £15). For more information contact Anna Blackwell.
April 2017: We hosted a 'Bar to the Future' as part of an At-Bristol After Hours event, talking to the public about novel labelling ideas.
January 2017: We presented preliminary findings from our public survey and stakeholder interviews at a British Academy funded workshop in Chester that aimed to further understanding of what works in alcohol labelling
November 2016: We launched our online survey to find out what people think about alcohol labelling
August 2016: Members of TARG spoke at Good Chemistry Brewing as part of Bristol Beer Week
Do you know how many units and calories are in your drink?
Find out using the Drinkaware unit and calorie calculator
Alcohol in the news
For further information or to send us your comments, please contact Anna Blackwell at TARG.