SynthesisAlcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire)2018
Effectiveness of Mass Media Campaigns to Reduce Alcohol Consumption and Harm: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire), 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 52 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
52 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- The effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of population-level policies to reduce alcohol use: A systematic umbrella review.Canadian journal of public health = Revue canadienne de sante publique · 2025Pooled it
- On the conversational persuasiveness of GPT-4.Nature human behaviour · 2025Trial
- Communicating the risks of tobacco and alcohol co-use.Addictive behaviors · 2022Trial
- Trial
- The hidden hand in retail: a qualitative analysis of how ultra-processed food companies shape consumer purchasing.BMC medicine · 2026Article
- Exploring the lived experience of alcohol use disorder patients in accessing hospitalized treatment care in Rwanda.Discover mental health · 2026Article
- Implementation of evidence-based alcohol policies to reduce alcohol-related harm and liver disease to advance public health in Europe.The Lancet regional health. Europe · 2026Review
- Adolescents' intention to reduce alcohol use: a health belief model approach to cancer prevention.Alcohol and alcoholism (Oxford, Oxfordshire) · 2026Article
- Flattening the curve: Factors associated with engagement in health protective behaviors at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic among Black individuals from predominantly low-income backgrounds.Journal of health psychology · 2026Article
- 'I don't consider cancer when I'm grabbing the beer': Discursive strategies used by midlife New Zealanders to undermine alcohol-cancer risks.Health promotion international · 2025Article
- New health taxes in Ghana: a qualitative study exploring potential public support.Health policy and planning · 2025Article
- Labelling the debate: a thematic analysis of alcohol industry submissions to the EU consultation on alcohol health warnings in Ireland.Globalization and health · 2025Article
- Messages About Tobacco and Alcohol Co-Users.Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs · 2025Article
- Alcoholic beverage consumption and female breast cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies.Alcohol, clinical & experimental research · 2024Review
- The effect of an annual temporary abstinence campaign on population-level alcohol consumption in Thailand: a time-series analysis of 23 years.BMJ global health · 2024Article
- Mixed messages? Exposure to reports about alcohol's suggested cardiovascular effects and hazardous alcohol use: a cross-sectional study of patients in cardiology care.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Assessing support for mental health policies among policy influencers and the general public in Alberta and Manitoba, Canada.International journal of mental health systems · 2024Article
- Public opinion on alcohol policies in Sri Lanka.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- [Evidence Map of Interventions to Reduce Alcohol ConsumptionMapa de la evidencia sobre intervenciones para reducir el consumo de alcohol].Revista panamericana de salud publica = Pan American journal of public health · 2024Article
- Associations between Adolescent Alcohol Use and Neurocognitive Functioning in Young Adulthood.Applied developmental science · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
12 authors.
Funding
Abstract
aimsTo assess the effectiveness of mass media messages to reduce alcohol consumption and related harms using a systematic literature review.
methodsEight databases were searched along with reference lists of eligible studies. Studies of any design in any country were included, provided that they evaluated a mass media intervention targeting alcohol consumption or related behavioural, social cognitive or clinical outcomes. Drink driving interventions and college campus campaigns were ineligible. Studies quality were assessed, data were extracted and a narrative synthesis conducted.
resultsSearches produced 10,212 results and 24 studies were included in the review. Most campaigns used TV or radio in combination with other media channels were conducted in developed countries and were of weak quality. There was little evidence of reductions in alcohol consumption associated with exposure to campaigns based on 13 studies which measured consumption, although most did not state this as a specific aim of the campaign. There were some increases in treatment seeking and information seeking and mixed evidence of changes in intentions, motivation, beliefs and attitudes about alcohol. Campaigns were associated with increases in knowledge about alcohol consumption, especially where levels had initially been low. Recall of campaigns was high.
conclusionMass media health campaigns about alcohol are often recalled by individuals, have achieved changes in knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about alcohol but there is little evidence of reductions in alcohol consumption. SHORT SUMMARY: There is little evidence that mass media campaigns have reduced alcohol consumption although most did not state that they aimed to do so. Studies show recall of campaigns is high and that they can have an impact on knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about alcohol consumption.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.