A new study has found a media campaign designed to raise awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer was associated with an increase in support for alcohol-related control policies.
Whilst based on findings from a Danish campaign, the study has attracted the attention of UK groups where policy debates have frequently revolved around the issue of alcohol's links to cancer and its communication.
Awareness of the link has been described as 'worryingly low', whilst a 2016 report warned alcohol-related cancers could cause 135,000 deaths over the next 20 years in England. Results from the 2018 Global Drugs Survey indicated almost half the British sample said cancer messages could get them thinking about drinking less, whilst health groups have continued to call for stronger alcohol policies and mandatory labelling including cancer warnings.
Some groups, including Balance North East, have proactively sought to highlight the link between alcohol and cancer, whilst further evidence of the links was a key factor in the revision of the recommended drinking guidelines in 2016.
The issue has however been contentious in policy debates. In 2016 Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies attracted controversy following the revised recommended guidelines for suggesting drinkers should ask themselves "do I want the glass of wine or do I want to raise my own risk of breast cancer?". Some have since argued a 'no safe level' message should play more of a central role, though others have cautioned against such an approach, in part due to the low level of risk - especially in absolute terms - when drinking within the guidelines.
Meanwhile, several studies by researchers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) have argued sections of the alcohol industry and associated bodies were using tactics such as 'denying, distortion and distraction' to downplay the link between alcohol and cancer (see subsequent Drinkaware and LSHTM responses). A study released this year reported industry funded bodies were less likely to tweet about physical health harms, including cancers, than other non-industry linked alcohol groups.
Cancer campaigns: a win-win for health groups?
Whilst previous studies had identified an association between awareness of the link and support for alcohol policies, health groups may regard the findings as a significant opportunity to both raise awareness of cancer and alcohol risks whilst simultaneously garnering further support for further alcohol control policies. Current public support for further control policies such as minimum pricing appears largely split, but with further communication of alcohol-related health risks finding more support.
Others may note the study's limitations, including questions over potential applicability to a UK context, and perhaps the relatively modest effects; unprompted, 22.2% of respondents in the pre campaign survey mentioned cancer as a potential health outcome of alcohol pre-campaign, rising to 27.0% of respondents post campaign. When prompted, awareness of the link was 44.8% pre campaign and 49.7% post campaign.
Meanwhile, a new systematic review of health mass media campaigns published this month concluded that whilst alcohol focused campaigns can result in changes in knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, there was little evidence of reductions in alcohol consumption, largely consistent with the 2016 PHE evidence review.
Current hopes for further government action however appeared to have been quelled in more recent months, with reports of a new national alcohol strategy and MUP evaluation seeming to have gone quiet. Meanwhile, Scotland's MUP implementation has yet to produce any conclusive data having been in place less than a year, though already appears to be subject to media and other factions keen to make declarations about its impact.
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