Is alcohol really that bad ? (yes, it is)

     

How are alcohol industries (AI) communicating  about the effects of their products on the development for consumers ?

Although regular alcohol consumption is undoubtedly recognized as an unhealthy habit among western societies, social standards and norms accompanied by unclear communication on the causal relationship with cancer consolidate the too lighthearted public opinion on alcohol consumption.

How did I get to this thought ?

Well, I was casually scrolling down to the comments section of a video reporting the findings of a recent paper by Mark Petticrew (2018) on the misleading cancer-related information published by AI, when I noticed the one and only posted comment which says :

Such skeptical positions may be due to social constructions of our society, alongside with misleading representations of the evident link between alcohol and cancer from the alcohol industry. Both potential causes are addressed hereafter.

A drinking culture

I am convinced that the comment cited above reflects a larger social minimizing opinion on the harms of alcohol, which I unfortunately shared, and maybe still (partially) share… Our social environment can be considered as a drinking culture, which was defined as follows :

“… As part of a network of other interacting factors (e.g. gender, age, social class, social networks, individual factors, masculinity, policy, marketing, global forces and place), drinking culture is thought to influence when, where, why and how people drink, how much they drink, their expectations about the effects of different amounts of alcohol, and the behaviors they engage in before, during and after drinking… ” Savic et al. (2016)

This bit of definition is applicable to my life in the city of Amsterdam, I realized. Collective social norms are effectively at work, influencing my drinking behavior. Whereas none of my friends proposes to smoke cigarettes together after class, the traditional “borrel” proposition is of daily occurrence. This simple example shows that drinking behavior is socially anchored in our daily life. Social learning theory applies to this phenomena, as people tend to reproduce behaviors that are adopted by people from social groups to which one feel related.

Three ways of misleading the public

Three common methods of misrepresentations by AI “responsible drinking bodies” (in charge of corporate social responsibility) were observed by researchers.

1.     Denial/omission:

Stating that no relationship exists between alcohol consumption and cancer, or not mentioning cancer as a risk when mentioning other potential harms.

“ “Recent research suggests that light to moderate drinking is not significantly associated with an increased risk for total cancer in either men or women.” International Alliance for Responsible Drinking.” Petticrew et al. (2018)

2.     Distortion:

Distortion is the most commonly used approach when mentioning the risks of developing cancer. For example, relationships are often obscured by making them seem inapplicable to most individuals.

““Cancer risk associated with the consumption of alcohol is related to patterns of drinking, particularly heavy drinking over extended periods of time.” Australia, Drinkwise” Petticrew et al. (2018)

3.     Distraction:

Risks are minimized by emphasizing other risk factors.

““Alcohol has been identified as a known human carcinogen by IARC, along with over 1,000 others, including solvents and chemical compounds, certain drugs, viral infection, solar radiation from exposure to sunlight, and processed meat.” IARD.” Petticrew et al. (2018)

Take-aways for you, PR practitioners

The main conclusion I want to make relates to ethical considerations of producing misleading messages. Instead of cherry-picking and composing communication messages with bits of research results that serve AI’s interests, please be conscious that public health matters.

Additionally, misrepresentations are potentially tainting AI’s reputation, with the risk of getting sued in justice which may influence the public opinion on the alcohol industry and its intentions. 

When it comes to alcohol prevention campaigns, recent research confirmed one main key for health PR practitioners to rely on. Most importantly, focus your messages on groups that have an influence on one’s social identity, as risk behaviors are significantly linked with social groups. Collective social changes can have an impact on legislation, which can cycle back to healthier social behaviors and so on !

And Yes, alcohol has been scientifically identified since 1988 as a risk factor for several types of cancer by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. And Yes, breast cancer is one of the most virulent, but also most omitted by AI’s communications, since the female alcohol market is actively being developed, maybe ?

Gaspar de Bellefroid is an Entertainment communication master student at the University of Amsterdam. He discovered his first academic interests in the research of potential positive effects of media on individuals.

Literature inspirations:

Anderson, P., Jané-Llopis, E., Hasan, O. S. M., & Rehm, J. (2018). Changing collective social norms in favour of reduced harmful use of alcohol: a review of reviews. Alcohol and alcoholism, 53(3), 326-332.

Petticrew, M., Maani Hessari, N., Knai, C., & Weiderpass, E. (2018). How alcohol industry organisations mislead the public about alcohol and cancer. Drug and alcohol review, 37(3), 293-303.