Impact of Alcohol Labels in a Real-World Setting

Summary

The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the impact of health information labeling on alcohol-related knowledge and behaviors in adults purchasing alcohol in Barcelona, Spain. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Does a label containing a cancer message have a larger impact on knowledge, behavior, intentions, risk perception, emotional response, product appeal and policy support compared to a responsibility label?
* Does the positioning of the label (front vs. back) on the alcohol container affect these outcomes?

Researchers will compare the impact of cancer message labels vs. responsibility labels and front vs. back positioning to see if there are differences in the primary outcome (knowledge of alcohol causing cancer) and secondary outcomes (behavior, intentions, risk perception, emotional response, and policy support).

Additionally, the study will provide insight in whether there is a testing effect of primary outcome pre-measurement by exposing only half of the sample to baseline question on knowledge of alcohol related harms.

Participants will:

* Be recruited in front of selected supermarkets in Barcelona after purchasing alcohol for their own consumption.
* Complete a baseline questionnaire.
* Receive a sticker containing a randomly assigned health message that will be applied to every alcohol beverage they have purchased.
* Receive an invitation to complete two follow-up surveys, one a week and one a month after the intervention.

Conditions

• Knowledge
• Behaviour Change
• Risk Perception
• Intention
• Support for Alcohol Policies
• Emotional Response
• Product Appeal

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Alcohol health warning label - cancer

A sticker with health information on alcohol causing cancer is applied to alcoholic beverage containers purchased by the participants.

BEHAVIORAL

Responsibility message on alcohol label

A sticker with a message to drink responsibly will be applied to alcoholic beverage containers purchased by the participants.

BEHAVIORAL

Front label

A sticker will be applied to the front of the alcoholic beverage containers purchased by the participants.

BEHAVIORAL

Back label

A sticker will be applied to the back of the alcoholic beverage containers purchased by the participants.

OTHER

Outcome pre-testing

Primary outcome (knowledge of alcohol related harms) is tested at baseline.

OTHER

No outcome pre-testing

Primary outcome (knowledge of alcohol related harms) is not tested at baseline.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• IPSOS

  collaborator INDUSTRY

• Program on Substance Abuse, Public Health Agency, Government of Catalonia

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• World Health Organization

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Daša Kokole, PhD · World Health Organisation Regional Office for Europe

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-04-23

Primary Completion

2025-07-25

Completion

2025-07-25

Countries

• Spain

Study Locations