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Impact on product appeal of labeling wine and beer with (a) lower strength alcohol verbal descriptors and (b) percent alcohol by volume (%ABV): An experimental study

Vasiljevic, M; Couturier, D-L; Marteau, TM

Impact on product appeal of labeling wine and beer with (a) lower strength alcohol verbal descriptors and (b) percent alcohol by volume (%ABV): An experimental study Thumbnail


Authors

D-L Couturier

TM Marteau



Abstract

Lower strength alcohol products may help reduce alcohol consumption and associated harms. This study assessed the impact of labeling wine and beer with different verbal descriptors denoting lower strength, with and without percent alcohol by volume (%ABV), on product appeal and understanding of strength. Three thousand three hundred ninety adult survey-panel members were randomized to 1 of 18 groups with 1 of 3 levels of verbal descriptor (Low vs. Super Low vs. No verbal descriptor) and 6 levels of %ABV (5 levels varying for wine and beer, and no level given). Products with verbal descriptors denoting lower strength (Low and Super Low) had lower appeal than Regular strength products. Appeal decreased as %ABV decreased. Understanding of strength was generally high across the various drinks with majority of participants correctly identifying or erring on the side of caution when estimating the units and calories in a given drink, appropriateness for consumption by children, and drinking within the driving limit. We discuss the theoretical and policy implications of these findings for public health.

Citation

Vasiljevic, M., Couturier, D., & Marteau, T. (2018). Impact on product appeal of labeling wine and beer with (a) lower strength alcohol verbal descriptors and (b) percent alcohol by volume (%ABV): An experimental study. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 32(7), 779-791. https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000376

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Apr 10, 2018
Online Publication Date Aug 30, 2018
Publication Date Nov 30, 2018
Deposit Date Oct 24, 2018
Publicly Available Date Mar 5, 2020
Journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors
Print ISSN 0893-164X
Electronic ISSN 1939-1501
Publisher American Psychological Association
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 32
Issue 7
Pages 779-791
DOI https://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000376
Related Public URLs https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/278234

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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Copyright Statement
This article has been published under the terms of the Creative Com-mons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/),which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Copyright fort his article is retained by the author(s). Author(s) grant(s) the American Psychological Association the exclusive right to publish the article and identify itself as the original publisher.




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