Improving the effectiveness of pregnancy warning labels displayed on alcohol containers: a French eye-tracking study

Every year, foetal alcohol spectrum disorders impact 1 in 100 live births in France. France is one of the few countries with mandated labelling that must include a pregnancy warning. However, as the regulation passed with minimal specifications regarding the size and colour of the ensuing pictogram, the current pregnancy warning labels (PWLs) is often barely visible. This study investigated the potential influence of the PWL design on women's attention and alcohol product choice.

The study used a within-subject experiment, with participants exposed to four PWL conditions.

An eye-tracking method was adopted. Eye movement was used as a proxy for measuring visual attention. In total, 4752 observations were collected (99 participants × 48 wine bottles) among women of childbearing age.

The results show that almost none of the participants paid attention to the current French PWL. However, the findings also indicate that a larger colourful PWL, with a combined text and pictogram, attracts far more attention, and that participants chose the bottles of wine displaying this type of PWL less frequently.

The study indicates that the current French PWL is insufficient to draw women's attention and suggests improvements to the PWL design to help increase its effectiveness.