Portman Group slams ‘alarmist’ alcohol warning study

This week, the drinks business reported on a new study, which appears to support decreasing the “social acceptability” of drinking by adding prominent health warnings to alcohol labels. Now, the industry’s regulatory body has bitten back, lambasting the research as “disproportionate”.

A new study, which tested drinkers’ responses to bottles of alcohol both with and without prominent health warnings displayed, has caused outcry within the drinks trade.

The research found that study participants who viewed vodka bottles containing warnings were “significantly more likely” to perceive the products as “unappealing” and “socially unacceptable”, compared to those who viewed products without warnings. They were also significantly more likely to report wanting to drink less alcohol, compared to those who viewed bottles without any warnings.

Following publication of the study’s results in the Drug and Alcohol review journal, Matt Lambert, CEO of the Portman Group, the alcohol social responsibility body and marketing regulator, told the drinks business:

“This study fails to account for the amount of information that already appears on the vast majority of alcohol products, such as the number of units, the chief medical officer’s low risk guidance and pregnancy warning labels. Most producers also signpost to the alcohol education charity Drinkaware, which allows consumers to explore the facts about drinking with the fullest amount of information and context.

“The study also makes clear that moves towards further health warnings are less about tackling harmful drinking and more about ‘reducing product appeal and social acceptability’,” said Lambert.

“Given that the vast majority of Scottish and UK consumers drink moderately it is therefore disproportionate to propose such alarmist warnings.”

He refers to a claim made by research leader Daniel Jones of the Institute for Social Marketing and Health at Stirling, who concluded from the study that: “Large pictorial or text warnings in particular may help to counteract the appeal and social acceptability of alcohol products, while increasing awareness of risks.”

Part of the study involved showing young adult drinkers cigarette packet-style images of possible alcohol-related health issues, including a blood pressure test, an image of a person clutching their liver, and an image of a CT scanner in a hospital.