General consumer awareness of warnings regarding the consumption of alcoholic beverages

Over the past two decades, the liquor industry in Japan has strived to address alcohol-related problems through initiatives such as warnings in the various media. In this study, we conducted an Internet-based questionnaire survey to examine general consumer awareness of such warnings, and the media by which they are conveyed, on the consumption of alcoholic beverages. A total of 985 subjects (males: 487, females: 498) in age groups ranging from 20s to 70s responded (response rate: 22.4%). The awareness rates for warnings regarding underage drinking, drunk driving, and drinking during pregnancy, and those for messages encouraging moderation in drinking, were 96.4%, 83.7%, 59.6%, and 45.5%, respectively. Logistic regression analysis adjusted for habitual alcohol consumption demonstrated significant gender- and/or age-based differences in the rates of awareness of warnings and the media publicizing them. For example, the odds ratio of awareness among women of warnings against underage drinking was significantly higher than that of awareness among men. Issues that must be addressed in the future include:(1) increasing public awareness about messages regarding drinking during pregnancy and drinking in moderation;(2) reviewing the wording of warnings to make them more effective;and (3) devising and employing, on a regular basis, more effective means of transmitting messages in consideration of gender and age.