Abstract
A previous research study concluded that wine and beer labelled as lower in strength increase consumption compared with the same drinks labelled as regular strength. The label included both a verbal and numerical descriptor of strength. The present study aimed to estimate the effect of each of these label components. Adaptive, parallel group randomised controlled trial, comprising an internal pilot sample (N1 = 90) and a confirmatory sample (N2 = 57). University bar laboratory in London UK. One-hundred and forty-seven weekly wine drinkers were sampled from a nationally representative English panel. Participants were randomised to one of three groups to taste test wine in a bar-laboratory, varying only in the label displayed: (i) verbal descriptor only (Super Low); (ii) numerical descriptor only (4%ABV); and (iii) verbal descriptor and numerical descriptor combined (Super Low 4%ABV) [each group n = 49]. The primary outcome was total volume (ml) of wine consumed. Participants randomised to the numerical descriptor label group (4%ABV: M = 155.12ml, B = 20.30, 95% CI = 3.92, 36.69, p-value = 0.016) and combined verbal and numerical descriptor label group (Super Low 4%ABV: M = 154.59ml, B = 20.68, 95%CI = 4.32, 37.04, p-value = 0.014) drank significantly greater amounts than those randomised to the verbal descriptor label group (Super Low: M = 125.65ml). This bar laboratory study estimated that a greater quantity of 'lower' strength wine was consumed when the label included a numerical strength descriptor compared with a verbal only strength descriptor.
Highlights
Worldwide, 5.3% of all deaths and 5.1% of the global burden of disease can be attributed to alcohol consumption [1]
Weekly wine and beer consumers sampled from the United Kingdom (UK) population mirrored such claims, by reporting that they perceived lower strength alcoholic drinks as suitable for consumption on more occasions and by more varied consumer groups when compared to drinks of regular strength [10]
After analysing the data from the internal pilot (Table 1), it was estimated from simulations that a full trial would require the recruitment of 57 additional participants (19 per group) to attain 93% power to detect a difference between the group randomised to averbal descriptor only label (Super Low) versus the group randomised to a combination label of both a verbal and numerical descriptor (Super Low 4%ABV); and 82% power to detect a difference between the group randomised to a verbal descriptor only label (Super Low) versus the group randomised to a numerical descriptor only label (4%ABV)
Summary
5.3% of all deaths and 5.1% of the global burden of disease can be attributed to alcohol consumption [1]. For lower strength alcoholic drinks to achieve their full potential for reduced consumption at the population level, two conditions need to be met: (i) the occasions during which alcohol is consumed must not increase (potentially extending the total time during which alcohol is consumed; [4,5]); and (ii) consumers must not compensate for the lower strength of these drinks by consuming more (thereby resulting in higher overall alcohol consumption; [6]) Evidence on this topic is scant, the few studies conducted to date suggest that extending the range of. As no prior evidence exists that could inform directional hypotheses, exploratory analyses were undertaken to test the effects of these labels
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