Since the appearance of the federally mandated alcohol warning labels in 1989, there have been numerous research studies examining the effectiveness of the warnings. Such studies have explored awareness levels, risk perceptions, believability, attitudes, and behavioral changes associated with the alcohol warning labels. Unfortunately, although frequent and heavier drinkers are aware and have knowledge of consumption risks, they are also likely to discount such information and are quite reticent to change patterns of abusive behavior. Reasons for such resistance are offered based on what has been learned from cigarette warning research, the fear appeal literature, psychological reactance theory, the persuasive communications field, and studies of addictive behavior. Public policy alternatives are discussed, including the enhancement of warning information, counteradvertising, and alcohol education programs in the process of building cognitive defenses, changing beliefs, and internalizing alcohol risk information.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Alcohol Beverage Labeling Act of 1988, (1988, November 18). Pub. L. No. 100-690, Sections 201-211, 27 USC 201-219.
2.
Andreasen, A. R. (1994). Social marketing: Its definition and domain. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 13(1), 108-114.
3.
Andrews, J. C. , Netemeyer, R. G., & Durvasula, S. (1990). Believability and attitudes toward alcohol warning information: The role of persuasive marketing communications theory. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 9, 1-15.
4.
Andrews, J. C. , Netemeyer, R. G., & Durvasula, S. (1991). Effects of consumption frequency on believability and attitudes toward alcohol warning labels. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 25(2), 323-338.
5.
Andrews, J. C. , Netemeyer, R. G., & Durvasula, S. (1993). The role of cognitive responses as mediators of alcohol warning label effects. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 12(1), 57-68.
6.
Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
7.
Barlow, T. , & Wogalter, M. S. (1991). Alcohol beverage warnings in print advertisements. In Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 35th Annual Meeting (Vol. 1, pp. 451-455). Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors Society.
8.
Beltramini, R. F. (1988). Perceived believability of warning label information presented in cigarette advertising. Journal of Advertising, 17(1), 26-32.
9.
Bhalla, G. , & Lastovicka, J. L. (1984). The impact of changing cigarette warning message and format. In T. Kinnear (Ed.), Advances in Consumer Research (Vol. 11, pp. 305-310). Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research.
10.
Big win for ad council. (1993, October 4). Advertising Age, p. 32.
11.
Brehm, J. W. (1966). A theory of psychological reactance. New York: Academic Press.
12.
Brucks, M. , Armstrong, G. M., & Goldberg, M. E. (1988). Children's use of cognitive defenses against television advertising: A cognitive response approach. Journal of Consumer Research, 14, 471-482.
13.
Canadaigua Wine Company . (1991, July 2). Consent agreement. Federal Trade Commission Docket No. C-3334. Washington, DC: Federal Trade Commission.
14.
Center for Science in the Public Interest . (1992). Mad at the ads! A citizens' guide to challenging alcohol advertising practices. Washington, DC: Center for Science in the Public Interest.
15.
Cohen, J. B. (1990). Charting a public policy agenda for cigarettes. In P. Murphy & W. Wilkie (Eds.), Marketing and public policy: The Federal Trade Commission in the 1990s (pp. 234-254). Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame.
16.
Colford, S. W. (1993, September 27). NAB corks up threat of alcohol warnings in ads. Advertising Age, p. 8.
17.
Colford, S. W. (1994, March 23). Thurmond retreats on alcohol ad health warnings. Advertising Age, p. 50.
18.
Ducoffe, S. J. (1990). The impact of product usage warnings in alcohol beverage advertisements. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 9, 16-29.
19.
Fazio, R. H. (1990). Multiple processes by which attitudes guide behavior: The MODE model as an integrative framework. In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology, (Vol. 23, pp. 75-109). New York: Academic Press.
20.
Fenaughty, A. M. , & MacKinnon, D. (1993). Immediate effects of the Arizona alcohol warning poster. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 12(1), 69-77.
21.
Freedman, A. M. (1989, November 14). Rebelling against alcohol, tobacco ads. Wall Street Journal, pp. B1, B11.
22.
Godfrey, S. S. , Laughery, K. R., Young, S. L., Vaubel, K. P., Brelsford, J. W., Laughery, K. A., & Horn, E. (1991). The new alcohol warning labels: How noticeable are they? In Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 35th Annual Meeting (Vol. 1, pp. 446-450). Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors Society.
23.
Goldberg, M. E. , Gorn, G. J., & Gibson, W. (1978). TV messages for snack and breakfast foods: Do they influence children's preferences?Journal of Consumer Research, 5, 73-81.
24.
Gordis, E. (1988, August 10). Highlights of scientific evidence regarding the proposed warning labels: Testimony from alcohol warning label hearings before the Subcommittee on the Consumer, Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. 100th Congress, 2d Session. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 24-26.
25.
Graves, K. L. (1993). An evaluation of the alcohol warning label: A comparison of the United States and Ontario, Canada, in 1990 and 1991. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 12(1), 19-29.
26.
Hankin, J. R. , Firestone, I. J., Sloan, J. J., Ager, J. W., Goodman, A. C., Sokol, R. J., & Martier, S. S. (1993). The impact of the alcohol warning label on drinking during pregnancy. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 12(1), 10-18.
27.
Hilton, M. E. (1993). An overview of recent findings on alcohol beverage warning labels. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 12(1), 1-9.
28.
Kalsher, M. J. , Clarke, S. W., & Wogalter, M. S. (1993). Communication of alcohol facts and hazards by a warning poster. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 12(1), 78-90.
29.
Kelman, H. C. (1961). Processes of opinion change. Public Opinion Quarterly, 25 (spring), 57-78.
30.
Laughery, K. R. , Rowe-Halbert, A. L., Young, S. L., Vaubel, K. P., & Laux, L. F. (1991). Effects of explicitness in conveying severity information in product warnings. In Proceedings of the Human Factors Society 35th Annual Meeting, (Vol. 1, pp. 481-485). Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors Society.
31.
Laughery, K. R. , Young, S. L., Vaubel, K. P., & Brelsford, J. W. (1993). The noticeability of warnings on alcoholic beverage containers. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 12(1), 38-56.
32.
Leventhal, H. , Singer, R. P., & Jones, S. (1965). Effects of fear and specificity of recommendation upon attitudes and behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2, 20-29.
33.
Leventhal, H. , Watts, J. C., & Pagano, F. (1967). Effects of fear and instructions on how to cope with danger. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 6, 313-321.
34.
Mayer, R. N. , Smith, K. R., & Scammon, D. L. (1991). Evaluating the impact of alcohol warning labels. In R.H. Holman & M.R. Solomon (Eds.), Advances in Consumer Research (Vol. 18, pp. 706-714). Provo, UT: Association for Consumer Research.
35.
Mazis, M. B. (1990). The marketing of alcohol: A spirited debate. In P. Murphy & W. Wilkie (Eds.), Marketing and advertising regulation (pp. 221-233). Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press.
36.
Mazis, M. B. , Morris, L. A., & Swasy, J. L. (1991). An evaluation of the alcohol warning label: Initial survey results. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 10(1), 229-241.
37.
McAuliffe, R. (1988). The FTC and the effectiveness of cigarette advertising regulation. Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 7, 49-64.
38.
McGinnies, E. (1949). Emotionality and perceptual defense. Psychological Review, 56, 244-251.
39.
McGuire, W. J. (1980). The communication-persuasion model and health risk labeling. In L. A. Morris, M. B. Mazis, & I. Barofsky (Eds.), Product labeling and health risks: Banbury report 6 (pp. 99-122). Cold Spring Harbor, NY: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
40.
Partnership for a Drug-Free America . (1994a). Parents who use drugs [Public service announcement]. New York: Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
41.
Partnership for a Drug-Free America . (1994b). What I need [Public service announcement]. New York: Partnership for a Drug-Free America.
42.
Pechmann, C. , & Ratneshwar, S. (1994). The effects of antismoking and cigarette advertising on young adolescents' perceptions of peers who smoke. Journal of Consumer Research, 21(2), 236-251.
43.
Petty, R. E. , Baker, S. M., & Gleicher, F. (1991). Attitude and drug abuse prevention: Implications of the elaboration likelihood model of persuasion. In L. Donohew, H. E. Sypher, & W. J. Bukoski (Eds.), Persuasive communications and drug abuse prevention (pp. 71-90). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
44.
Petty, R. E. , & Cacioppo, J. T. (1979). Effects of forewarning of persuasive intent on cognitive responses and persuasion. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 5, 173-176.
45.
Petty, R. E. , & Cacioppo, J. T. (1981). Attitudes and persuasion: Classic and contemporary approaches. Dubuque, IA: William C. Brown.
46.
Rodriguez, M. A. (1991). What makes a warning label salient? In Proceedings of the Human Factor Society 35th Annual Meeting (Vol. 2, pp. 1029-1033). Santa Monica, CA: Human Factors Society.
47.
Rose, L. (1991, September 23). FTC has surprises for you. Advertising Age, p. 22.
48.
Scammon, D. L. , Mayer, R. N., & Smith, K. R. (1991). Alcohol warnings: How do you know when you have had one too many?Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 10(1), 214-228.
49.
Scammon, D. L. , Mayer, R. N., & Smith, K. R. (1992). The morning after: Have consumers learned anything from the alcohol warning labels? In P. N. Bloom & R. G. Starr, Jr., (Eds.), Proceedings of the Marketing and Public Policy Conference (pp. 93-103). Chicago: American Marketing Association.
50.
Schultz, D. E. , Tannenbaum, S. I., & Lauterborn, R. F. (1992). Integrated marketing communications. Lincolnwood, IL: NTC.
51.
Schuster, C. P. , & Powell, C. P. (1987). Comparison of cigarette and alcohol controversies. Journal of Advertising, 16(2), 26-33.
52.
Shimp, T. A. , & Dyer, R. F. (1979). The pain-pill-pleasure model and illicit drug consumption. Journal of Consumer Research, 6(1), 36-46.
53.
Surgeon General's Workshop on Drunk Driving: Proceedings. (1989). Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
54.
Swasy, J. L. , Mazis, M. B., & Morris, L. A. (1992, May 16). Message design characteristics affecting alcohol warning message noticeability and legibility. Paper presented at the Marketing and Public Policy Conference, Washington, DC.
55.
Tanner, J. F., Jr. , Hunt, J. B., & Eppright, D. R. (1991). The protection motivation model: A normative model of fear appeals. Journal of Marketing, 55(3), 36-45.
56.
Warner, K. E. (1977). The effects of the anti-smoking campaign on cigarette consumption. American Journal of Public Health, 67, 645-650.
