Changing environmental cues to reduce alcohol consumption
Research Team: Professor Theresa M Marteau, Professor Marcus Munafo, Professor Matt Hickman & Professor Charles Abraham
Who's involved: University of Cambridge, University of Bristol & University of Exeter
March 2013 - March 2017
Alcohol is the fifth leading cause of death and disability in the UK. The aim of this project was to identify environmental stimuli that increase alcohol consumption and those that reduce it, in order to inform practitioners and policy makers.
The research team carried out four studies to look at the immediate impact of alcohol marketing upon alcohol consumption, to consider the impact of pro- and anti- alcohol advertising on alcohol consumption in young people, to look at the impact of glass design on alcohol comsuption and to assess the impact of changes in environments on drinkers’ behaviour patterns including alcohol purchasing.
Overall, findings from this programme of research suggest that: restricting or removing alcohol advertising may have a small impact on reducing alcohol consumption; producing alcohol warning advertising that generates negative emotion could help to reduce alcohol consumption; using straight glasses with mid-point markings and without nucleation could help to reduce alcohol consumption, reduce drinking speed, and lessen the visual appeal of alcoholic beverages; and that making changes to bar environments is feasible but further research is needed to assess the impact of specific changes on alcohol consumption.
Drink beer too quickly? Opt for straight glasses, not curved
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Brown KG, Stautz K*, Hollands GJ, Winpenny EM, Marteau TM (2016). The cognitive and behavioural impact of alcohol promoting and alcohol warning advertisements: an experimental study. Alcohol and Alcoholism, 51, 354-362.
Stautz K, Brown KG*, King SE, Shemilt I, Marteau TM (2016). Immediate effects of alcohol marketing communications and media portrayals on consumption and cognition: a systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental studies. BMC Public Health, 16:465.
Stautz K, Frings D, Albery IP, Moss AC, Marteau TM (2017). Impact of alcohol promoting and alcohol warning advertisements on alcohol consumption, affect, and implicit cognition in heavy drinking young adults: a laboratory-based randomized controlled trial. British Journal of Health Psychology, 22, 128-150.
Stautz K, Marteau TM (2016). Viewing alcohol warning advertising reduces urges to drink in young adults: an online experiment. BMC Public Health, 16:530.
Troy, D. M., Attwood, A. S., Maynard, O. M., Scott-Samuel, N. E., Hickman, M., Marteau, T. M., & Munafò, M. R. (2016). Effect of glass markings on drinking rate in social alcohol drinkers. The European Journal of Public Health.
Troy, D. M., Maynard, O. M., Hickman, M., Attwood, A. S., & Munafò, M. R. (2015). The effect of glass shape on alcohol consumption in a naturalistic setting: a feasibility study. Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 1(1), 1-8.
The purpose of this study was to find out whether it is possible to use alcohol advice or counselling approaches carried out in health setting in police custody suites with people who have been arrested, to reduce heavy drinking and alcohol related problems.
April 2014 - September 2016
The aim of this project is to assist local and national policy-makers develop efficient strategies to help achieve wide scale roll out of alcohol interventions to reduce health harm.
September 2017 - February 2019
The research aimed to evaluate the impact of the introduction of Cumulative Impact Zones to reduce alcohol related harms across the London Borough of Islington.
May 2014 - October 2016
