Search

This study will investigate whether drinking from glasses displaying health warnings affects drink behaviour and other alcohol-related outcomes. In a human laboratory experiment we will manipulate the glassware (health warning glassware vs. control glassware) to examine the differences in alcohol consumption, alcohol urges and alcohol-related attitudes.

We will conduct focus groups with alcohol consumers to explore participants’ perspectives on the presentation and content of alcohol label information and methods of information delivery. The focus group discussions will consider how labels can be optimised to increase consumers’ knowledge and awareness of alcohol content and related harms as well as impact attitudes and intentions towards reducing alcohol consumption.

To describe the scale and characteristics of existing evidence for the impact on behaviour and cognitions of alcohol information labelling interventions, including standard drinks, calories and low-risk drinking guidelines. The description will cover the interventions (and comparators if applicable), outcomes measured, participants and setting context, study design, and broad findings reported. The results will be used to identify where additional evidence is warranted, including synthesis of existing evidence and primary research.

The primary aim of this online study is to assess whether altering the proportion of alcohol-free drinks compared to alcoholic drinks and the provision of calorie information affects the selection of an alcohol-free drink over an alcoholic drink. The secondary aim is to examine the impact of using a gamified task compared to a non-gamified control task on participant engagement.

The aim of this study is to estimate the impact of serving lager, ale and cider in straight-sided glasses on alcohol consumption in public houses and bars. Twenty-four public houses and bars in the UK will take part in this cluster randomised crossover trial. All participating venues will perform two intervention periods (A) and two control periods (B) in random order. Each period will last two weeks and will involve serving lager, ale and cider in either straight-sided glasses (intervention condition) or the venue's usual glasses (control condition). Data on the volume (in ml) of lager, ale and cider sold will be collected and compared between intervention and control periods.

The aim of this study is to estimate the impact of increasing the availability of non-alcoholic drinks (i.e., soft drinks and alcohol-free beer) vs alcoholic drinks (i.e., beer) on the type of drink selected (non-alcoholic or alcoholic). Participants are UK adults who consume alcohol weekly, recruited to an online experimental study. Participants make a hypothetical selection from a range of non-alcoholic and alcoholic drink options. They are randomly assigned to one of eight conditions, in a 4 (availability) x 2 (cognitive resource) factorial design. The availability factor includes four conditions: i) reference 1: two non-alcoholic drinks and two beers, ii) reference 2: four non-alcoholic drinks and four beers, iii) increased non-alcoholic: six non-alcoholic drinks and two beers, iv) increased alcohol: two non-alcoholic drinks and six beers. The cognitive resource factor includes two conditions: i) high time pressure, ii) low time pressure. The primary outcome is the proportion of participants selecting a non-alcoholic drink (vs an alcoholic drink).

This study will comprise a series of stakeholder interviews, which will investigate what information should be provided on alcohol labels, including the optimal presentation of health warnings, calories and units, and how to deliver this information to maximise the effectiveness for changing the attitudes, intentions and behaviour of individual consumers of alcohol. The information gathered in this study will be used to inform prototype intervention development that will be used in follow up studies.

In the Skyline Study, smokers will be randomised to receiving efficacy messages or control messages (while being exposed to government-mandated on-pack warning labels) multiple times daily in an intensive 28-day longitudinal study. The present study would recruit participants from the experimental arm of the randomised controlled trial to take part in qualitative interviews to explore their reactions towards efficacy messaging.

Background: Point of sale (POS) displays of tobacco products are now prohibited in the UK. However, displays of e-cigarettes and smoking paraphernalia – e.g., cigarette lighters – are often located alongside cabinets holding tobacco products. The nature and prevalence of these displays is currently unknown. Aim: The aim of this naturalistic observational study is to describe the nature and prevalence of e-cigarettes and smoking paraphernalia at POS displays in major retailers of tobacco in two cities in England. Methods: A total of 150 stores will be sampled from major retailers of tobacco in Bristol and Cambridge, England, comprising three large supermarket chains and convenience stores located in areas of high, medium and low deprivation. Measures of product visibility and placement will be recorded using a standardised checklist, additionally, POS displays will be photographed where permission is granted. Discussion: The results of this study will inform the design of other studies to evaluate the impact of these displays on urges to smoke in children and adults.

The objective is to understand how self-affirmation, health warning severity and health warning content influence defensive and positive reactions to alcohol health warnings. 64 self-affirmed participants and 64 non-self-affirmed participants (control group) will watch several alcohol containers with moderate and severe health warnings about different drinking alcohol health risks.

The aims of this study are to examine the bi-directional associations of COVID-19 risk perceptions with mental health, wellbeing, and risk behaviours. We are using genetic and self-report data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC).

The primary aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of caffeine reduction on circulating caffeine and caffeine metabolites, self-reported nicotine withdrawal, smoking urges, caffeine toxicity and smoking abstinence in quitting smokers. The secondary aim is to develop a protocol of best practice for delivery of caffeine reduction interventions in Stop Smoking Services.

Note: Due to the ongoing disruption of COVID-19, we have had to make changes to the study protocol. The updated study protocol has been preregistered here: https://osf.io/vnqp8 This study evaluates responses to flavoured e-liquid packaging in an online experimental study. Young people (11-17 years) will rate images of e-liquid packaging on pack appraisal, pack receptivity, and perceived harm. Our primary research question compares ratings of packaging of unflavoured, fruit-flavoured and candy-flavoured e-liquids.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of unit and calorie information on ratings of drink liking and choice. Participants were asked to drink and rate small amounts of beer and white wine. All drinks were the same (standard strength drinks). However, participants were randomised to be told the drinks were either "low calorie", "low unit" or "standard calorie/unit" drinks.

The aim of this study is to estimate the impact of exposure to two different types of e cigarette cues on tobacco smoking and vaping urges. Four groups of UK adults, varying in smoking (i.e., current or former) and vaping (i.e., uses or does not use) status, will be randomly assigned to view one of four short videos and complete a questionnaire online. The videos will show the same conversation between two actors but vary in the following: (a) someone vapes using a cigalike e-cigarette; (b) someone vapes using a tank-system e-cigarette; (c) someone smokes a tobacco cigarette, (d) someone performs an action involving hand and face that does not involve vaping or smoking.

This study aims to estimate the impact of exposure to e-cigarette retail displays on smoking susceptibility in children. We will recruit 1,000 participants (aged 13-17) to an online experiment using a 2x2 between-subjects design, with two factors: i. E-cigarette retail display visibility (high vs low), and ii. Proportion of e-cigarette images (75% vs 25%). Participants will be randomised to one of four groups, each displaying an image set comprising 12 images of retail displays that are of either high or low e-cigarette display visibility and containing high or low proportions of e-cigarette images or unrelated retail products (e.g., stationery). The primary outcome is susceptibility to tobacco smoking, assessed using a three-item measure (Pierce, 1996).

This online experiment uses a between subjects’ design and has four conditions. UK regular alcohol consumers will be required to choose a drink from a selection of six alcoholic drinks and six non-alcoholic drinks (primary outcome). These alcoholic drinks will either be wine or beer depending on the preference of the participant. If in a PHWL condition, one of three PHWLs will be displayed on the alcoholic drinks, in addition to the current standard labelling. The PHWLs will either link alcohol and 1. immunity against viral infections, 2. bowel cancer or 3. damage to an unborn baby. If a participant is allocated to the control condition, the alcoholic drinks will display the current standard labelling only. Participants will then be asked about their risk perception/emotional responses as secondary outcomes as outlined below.

The aim of this study is to estimate the impact of glass weight on the rate of alcohol consumption among social drinkers. One hundred and forty-eight (148) participants will take part in this randomised controlled trial. Participants will be randomised to one of two experimental conditions: 1) Heavy: participants will be asked to consume 330ml of lager (Heineken [ABV 5%]) from a heavier than normal pint glass (660g to 680g). 2) Standard (control): participants will be asked to consume 330ml of lager from a normal pint glass (454g to 460g). The primary outcome will be total drinking time (in seconds). We hypothesise that social drinkers will consume 330ml of lager more slowly from a heavy pint glass compared to a standard pint glass. To explore potential mechanisms, the following secondary outcomes will also be measured: 1) number of times the glass is put down between sips; and 2) drink enjoyment.

The aim of this pilot and feasibility study is to inform the design of a larger randomised controlled trial (RCT) to estimate the impact of drinking position (sitting vs. standing) on the rate of alcohol consumption and to determine whether it is moderated by the availability of a table. The primary aim is to inform the sample size of a larger RCT by measuring total drinking times of alcoholic beverages in four conditions. The secondary aim is to assess the feasibility of the study and the fidelity to protocol.

This study will use an online public survey to investigate what information should be provided on alcohol labels, as well as how to deliver this information to maximise its effectiveness. This survey is part of a wider project, and the primary aim is to inform the development of prototype labelling materials. Information on a number of key demographics will be collected to enable analysis of how knowledge, attitudes and behaviour may differ between key groups.

The aim of this study is to examine the effect of adding self-relevancy information to alcohol health warning messages. This study is conducted online. Participants are randomised to one of three conditions: 1) self-relevant health warnings (where messages include personalised information about the degree of cancer risk based on the participants self-reported alcohol consumption), 2) standard health warning message about alcohol and cancer (active control), 3) no health warning message. Primary outcome measures are positive and negative alcohol-related attitudes and alcohol craving.

The aim of the study is to see how alcohol labels, carrying different unit information and health warnings, influence people’s understanding of units, their choice of drinks, attitudes about drinking and how they intend to drink in the future.