A new study suggests that more specific warning labels on alcoholic beverages could help lead to reduced drinking.
Correspondent Bradley Blackburn reports that researchers at Stanford and the University of North Carolina found specially created alcohol warnings were more effective than the current U.S. label.
The current label says drinking alcohol “may cause health problems.”
Researchers say test warnings that highlighted cancer risk were particularly effective.
Additional findings published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs show alcohol-related deaths in the United States have increased over the past two decades, while the current warning label has remained unchanged since 1988.
The study tested different warning labels on more than 1,000 adults of legal drinking age who reported drinking at least once a week. Participants viewed multiple messages, including new warning labels and the current U.S. label, and rated how well each one encouraged them to drink less, reminded them of alcohol-related harms, and informed them of something new.
Researchers found all of the new warning labels outperformed the current U.S. warning label based on those ratings.
The study also found certain designs, including shapes like triangles and octagons, were perceived as more effective and attention-grabbing than other icons.
