title: Developing cancer warning statements for alcoholic beverages.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is growing evidence of the increased cancer risk associated with alcohol consumption, but this is not well understood by the general public. This study investigated the acceptability among drinkers of cancer warning statements for alcoholic beverages.
  
  
  METHODS
  Six focus groups were conducted with Australian drinkers to develop a series of cancer-related warning statements for alcohol products. Eleven cancer warning statements and one general health warning statement were subsequently tested on 2,168 drinkers via an online survey. The statements varied by message frame (positive vs negative), cancer reference (general vs specific), and the way causality was communicated ('increases risk of cancer' vs 'can cause cancer').
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, responses to the cancer statements were neutral to favorable, indicating that they are unlikely to encounter high levels of negative reaction from the community if introduced on alcoholic beverages. Females, younger respondents, and those with higher levels of education generally found the statements to be more believable, convincing, and personally relevant. Positively framed messages, those referring to specific forms of cancer, and those using 'increases risk of cancer' performed better than negatively framed messages, those referring to cancer in general, and those using the term 'can cause cancer'.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Cancer warning statements on alcoholic beverages constitute a potential means of increasing awareness about the relationship between alcohol consumption and cancer risk.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology and Speech Pathology, Curtin University, GPO Box U1987, Perth 6845, Australia. simone.pettigrew@curtin.edu.au.
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pettigrew
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jongenelis
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chikritzhs
authors.forename: Terry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Slevin
authors.forename: Iain S
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Pratt
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Glance
authors.forename: Wenbin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000434:Alcoholic Beverages / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication / Q000150:complications*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001315:Australia; D003625:Data Collection; D004522:Educational Status; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D005515:Food Labeling; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000209:etiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol
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