Calling alcohol the third-leading preventable cause of cancer, the U.S. surgeon general Friday recommended that alcoholic beverages come with the same type of warning label currently used on packs of cigarettes.
Northeastern University marketing and health experts say warning labels could stir conversation about alcohol consumption but might also be ignored by people grown blase about health messaging.
A warning label could deter some people from having a second — or first — glass of wine, says Richard A. Daynard, Northeastern University Distinguished Professor of Law and president of the Public Health Advocacy Institute.
“The introduction of the label would cause a lot of public discussion,” he says. “There could be a contagion effect, change in social norms, if enough people took it seriously.”
Young people who don’t drink when their friends are consuming alcohol currently may feel uncomfortable or “uncool,” Daynard says. “But if the norm changes — and other beverages or activities become the thing to do — then it could have a big impact.”
Susan Mello, an associate professor of communication studies, says the timing of the surgeon general’s advisory couldn’t be better.
As people get busy making New Year’s resolutions to improve health and well-being, we’re “more receptive to this type of information that we would be otherwise,” Mello says.
