Effectiveness of current French health warnings

The current qualitative study intended to investigate whether health warnings can be effective in regulating alcohol consumption.

This study is the first to explore the effectiveness of two mandatory health warnings introduced in France in 1991 (“Alcohol is harmful” displayed on alcohol advertisements) and 2007 (a pictogram on bottles).  The results of this qualitative study (in-depth interviews with 26 French individuals, age 15-29 years) showed that both warnings suffered from a lack of visibility and noticeability due to their size, location and outdatedness. Both warnings were considered to be informationally vague, lacking in credibility and ineffective in making participants feel concerned and influencing their consumption habits. Young people in the sample did not understand the text warning on the advertisements and did not feel concerned. The warnings did not motivate the participants to change their alcohol consumption behavior. Consequently, the authors concluded that current French warning are ineffective and require modification.

Dossou G, Gallopel-Morvan K, Diouf J-P, The effectiveness of current French health warnings displayed on alcohol advertisements and alcoholic beverages, Europ J Pub Health, 2017, 1-6

For more information about this article, read the scientific abstract here.