ArticleBMC public health2020
Image-and-text health warning labels on alcohol and food: potential effectiveness and acceptability.
Article in BMC public health, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 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
28 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 57 citations in OpenAlex.
- Impact of health warning labels on selection and consumption of food and alcohol products: systematic review with meta-analysis.Health psychology review · 2021Pooled it
- Effectiveness of a multi-component intervention including pictorial warnings to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption - a randomized controlled trial.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2025Trial
- Impact of health warning labels and calorie labels on selection and purchasing of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks: A randomized controlled trial.Addiction (Abingdon, England) · 2023Trial
- Warning labels on alcoholic beverage containers: a pilot randomized experiment among young adults in Mexico.BMC public health · 2023Trial
- Designing Effective Alcohol Warnings: Consumer Reactions to Icons and Health Topics.American journal of preventive medicine · 2023Trial
- Effects of pairing health warning labels with energy-dense snack foods on food choice and attitudes: Online experimental study.Appetite · 2021Trial
- Trial
- Consumers' Attitudes and Preferences Towards Ingredients List, Nutrition Information and Health Warning Labelling on Alcohol Products: A Scoping Review.Current nutrition reports · 2026Article
- Social norm intervention in real-world supermarkets in the Netherlands: A quasi-experimental evaluation of effects on perceived social norms and meat substitute purchases.Applied psychology. Health and well-being · 2026Article
- New Alcohol Warnings Outperform the Current U.S. Warning in a National Survey Experiment.Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs · 2026Article
- Can (dynamic) social norms encourage plant-based food purchases? a quasi-experimental study in real-world Dutch supermarkets.BMC medicine · 2025Article
- Health harms that discourage alcohol consumption: A randomized experiment of warning messages.Addictive behaviors · 2024Article
- Effect of alcohol health warning labels on knowledge related to the ill effects of alcohol on cancer risk and their public perceptions in 14 European countries: an online survey experiment.The Lancet. Public health · 2024Article
- Effects of immediate and distant health consequences: different types of health warning messages on sweets affect the purchase probability.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Factors associated with public awareness of the relationship between alcohol use and breast cancer risk.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Nudging Interventions on Alcohol and Tobacco Consumption in Adults: A Scoping Review of the Literature.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Support for cancer prevention public health policies: results from a nationally representative sample of residents in the United States.Translational behavioral medicine · 2022Article
- The Impact of Interpretive Packaged Food Labels on Consumer Purchase Intention: The Comparative Analysis of Efficacy and Inefficiency of Food Labels.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Alcohol Health Warning Labels: A Rapid Review with Action Recommendations.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundHealth warning labels (HWLs) using images and text to depict the negative health consequences of tobacco consumption are effective and acceptable for changing smoking-related outcomes. There is currently limited evidence concerning their potential use for reducing consumption of alcoholic drinks and energy-dense foods. The aim of this research was to describe the potential effectiveness and acceptability of image-and-text (also known as pictorial or graphic) HWLs applied to: i. alcoholic drinks and ii. energy-dense snack foods.
methodsTwo online studies were conducted using between-subjects designs with general population samples. Participants rated one of 21 image-and-text HWLs on alcoholic drinks (n = 5528), or one of 18 image-and-text HWLs on energy-dense snacks (n = 4618). HWLs comprised a graphic image with explanatory text, depicting, respectively, seven diseases linked to excess alcohol consumption, and six diseases linked to excess energy intake. Diseases included heart disease and various cancers. Outcomes were negative emotional arousal, desire to consume the labelled product, and acceptability of the label. Free-text comments relating to HWLs were content analysed.
resultsFor both alcoholic drinks and energy-dense snacks, HWLs depicting bowel cancer generated the highest levels of negative emotional arousal and lowest desire to consume the product, but were the least acceptable. Acceptability was generally low for HWLs applied to alcohol, with 3 of 21 rated as acceptable, and was generally high for snacks, with 13 of 18 rated as acceptable. The majority of free-text comments expressed negative reactions to HWLs on alcohol or energy-dense snacks.
conclusionsImage-and-text health warning labels depicting bowel cancer showed greatest potential for reducing selection and consumption of alcoholic drinks and energy-dense snacks, although they were the least acceptable. Laboratory and field studies are needed to assess their impact on selection and consumption.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.