Impacts of Alcohol Warning Labels: An Online Experiment

NCT06442800 | Completed Results

• 2 other identifiers: 23-1218a1R01AA030548-01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 1,123
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this experiment is to examine responses to alcohol warning messages about 10 different topics among US adult alcohol consumers. The main questions this experiment aims to answer are: Which warning topics make alcohol consumers in the US want to drink less alcohol? Which warning topics remind alcohol consumers in the US of alcohol's harms? Which warning topics help alcohol consumers in the US learn something new? There will be a total of 20 alcohol messages, 2 messages for each of the 10 topics. For each topic, participants will be randomly assigned to 1 of the 2 messages so that they view a total of 10 alcohol messages. All 10 messages will be shown in random order. Participants will rate each message on how much it makes them want to drink less alcohol, reminds them that drinking can be harmful, and teaches them something new.

Conditions

Alcohol Drinking

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Perceived Message Effectiveness

  The study will assess perceived message effectiveness using 1 item: "How much does this message make you want to drink less alcohol?" Response options will range from "not at all" (coded as 1) to "a great deal" (coded as 5). Higher scores indicate more perceived message effectiveness. Survey weighted means are reported to account for NORC AmeriSpeak's sampling design to enable results to be statistically representative of the US population of drinkers age \>/=21 who drink alcohol.

  Assessed during one-time 15-minute online study survey

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Reminding of Alcohol's Harms

  Assessed during one-time 15-minute online study survey

• Learning Something New

  Assessed during one-time 15-minute online study survey

Study Arms (1)

Alcohol Messages

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants will view and rate 10 messages shown on alcohol containers.

Behavioral: Liver Cancer; Behavioral: Throat and Mouth Cancer; Behavioral: Colorectal Cancer; Behavioral: Multiple Cancers; Behavioral: Liver Disease; Behavioral: Hypertension; Behavioral: Dementia; Behavioral: Drinking Guidelines; Behavioral: Current Warning; Behavioral: Control

Interventions

Liver Cancer BEHAVIORAL

Participants will view messages about the risk of liver cancer from alcohol consumption.

Alcohol Messages

Throat and Mouth Cancer BEHAVIORAL

Participants will view messages about the risk of throat and mouth cancer from alcohol consumption.

Alcohol Messages

Colorectal Cancer BEHAVIORAL

Participants will view messages about the risk of colorectal cancer from alcohol consumption.

Alcohol Messages

Multiple Cancers BEHAVIORAL

Participants will view messages about the risk of multiple cancers from alcohol consumption.

Alcohol Messages

Liver Disease BEHAVIORAL

Participants will view messages about the risk of liver disease from alcohol consumption.

Alcohol Messages

Hypertension BEHAVIORAL

Participants will view messages about the risk of hypertension from alcohol consumption.

Alcohol Messages

Dementia BEHAVIORAL

Participants will view messages about the risk of dementia from alcohol consumption.

Alcohol Messages

Drinking Guidelines BEHAVIORAL

Participants will view messages about guidelines for alcohol consumption.

Alcohol Messages

Current Warning BEHAVIORAL

Participants will view the current warning that is required on most alcoholic beverage containers sold in the US.

Alcohol Messages

Control BEHAVIORAL

Participants will view neutral messages unrelated to the harms of alcohol consumption.

Alcohol Messages

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 21 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Age 21 and older
• Reside in the United States
• Able to complete a survey in English
• Consumed alcohol at least once per week during the past 4 weeks

You may not qualify if:

• Under the age of 21
• Reside outside of the United States
• Unable to complete a survey in English
• Consumed alcohol less than once per week during the past 4 weeks

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill: lead
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of North Carolina

Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 27599, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Alcohol Drinking

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Drinking Behavior; Behavior

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Marissa Hall, PhD
• Organization: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

mghall@unc.edu

919-445-1310

Study Officials

• Marissa Hall, PhD

  University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

• Anna Grummon, PhD

  Stanford University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: Yes

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 30, 2024
• First Posted: June 4, 2024
• Study Start: September 25, 2024
• Primary Completion: October 14, 2024
• Study Completion: October 14, 2024
• Last Updated: August 15, 2025
• Results First Posted: August 15, 2025

Record last verified: 2024-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: SAP, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: Investigators will post individual participant data upon acceptance of any manuscripts associated with the data generated in this study.
• Access Criteria: Data and code will be made publicly available.

Locations

US (1)