Alcohol Health Warning Study

Health warning labels (HWLs) on alcohol containers may help reduce population-level alcohol consumption. However, few studies have examined the most effective formats for alcohol HWLs. This study tested the effects of three different types of alcohol HWLs. We conducted a between-subjects online experiment among N= 1,755 Australian adult drinkers with an initial exposure session, measurement of immediate post-exposure outcomes, repeated exposure over the subsequent eight days and measurement of additional outcomes at follow-up. Australian adults were randomised to one of five conditions: (a) No HWL control; (b) DrinkWise control; (c) Text-Only intervention (Text-Only); (d) Text-and-Pictogram intervention (Text+Pictogram); or (e) Text-and-Photograph intervention (Text+Photograph). In each intervention condition, participants were exposed to eight HWLs, each depicting a different alcohol-related harm.