“No one associates alcohol with being in good health”: Health and wellbeing as imperatives to manage alcohol use for young people

Caluzzi, Gabriel; MacLean, Sarah; Livingston, Michael; Pennay, Amy

doi:10.1111/1467-9566.13237

Cited by 30 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 41 publications

(46 reference statements)

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“…The discourses constructed in these materials align closely with those of other alcohol industry CSR discourses which employ selective presentation of harms (particularly cancer), and ambiguous terms such as “responsible drinking” [ 39 , 40 , 42 ]. This is particularly concerning given evidence that young people cite health considerations as important influences of their decisions relating to alcohol use [ 91 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distilling the curriculum: An analysis of alcohol industry-funded school-based youth education programmes

et al. 2022

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Background and aim For decades, corporations such as the tobacco and fossil fuel industries have used youth education programmes and schools to disseminate discourses, ideas and values favourable to their positions, and to pre-empt regulation that threatens profits. However, there is no systematic research into alcohol industry-funded youth education programmes. This article serves to address this important gap in the literature. Methods Using a discourse theoretical approach informed by poststructural discourse theory and critical discourse analysis, we analysed teaching materials from three school-based youth education initiatives which focus on alcohol consumption and health harms: Drinkaware for Education, The Smashed Project (funded by Diageo), and Talk About Alcohol (Alcohol Education Trust). These materials, some of which are disseminated internationally, are provided to schools through intermediary bodies in receipt of alcohol industry funding. Findings The analysis found that these materials drew from and presented discourses of personal responsibility, moderate alcohol consumption, and involved a narrowing of the problem definition and causes. The locus of the problem is located by the discourses within individuals including youth, with causes of youth alcohol consumption repeatedly presented as peer pressure and ‘poor choices’, with little or no mention of alcohol industry marketing or other practices. All programmes promoted familiarisation and normalisation of alcohol as a ‘normal’ adult consumer product which children must learn about and master how to use responsibly when older. The discourses constructed in these materials closely align with those of other alcohol industry corporate social responsibility discourses which employ selective presentation of harms, including misinformation about cancer, and ambiguous terms such as “responsible drinking”. Furthermore, the role of alcohol price, availability and access, and the impacts of alcohol and the industry on inequities were not articulated within the discourses. The research was limited to an analysis of teaching materials and further research is needed to explore their impact on youth, teachers and wider discourses and social norms. Conclusion Alcohol industry-sponsored youth education programmes serve industry interests and promote moderate consumption while purportedly educating children about harms and influences of alcohol use. There are considerable conflicts of interest in the delivery of alcohol education programmes funded by the alcohol industry and intermediary bodies in receipt of such funding. Alcohol education materials should be developed independent from industry, including funding, and should empower children and young people to understand and think critically about alcohol, including harms and drivers of consumption, and effective interventions needed to protect them and others from alcohol-related harms. Independent organisations can use this analysis to critique their materials to strengthen alignment with meeting student and public health interests. The ongoing exposure of children and young people to such conflicted and misleading materials needs urgent attention from policymakers, practitioners, teachers and parents, and resources dependent on industry support should cease being used in schools.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distilling the curriculum: An analysis of alcohol industry-funded school-based youth education programmes

et al. 2022

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“…There are also reports of normalising non-drinking in this generation [36,37], with small or no differences seen between drinkers and non-drinkers [38]. There is also some evidence that today's youth are more health-conscious [39,40]. Since risk factors and risky behaviours tend to cluster together and co-occur [41], it will be interesting to examine what this means for the drinking habits of today's youth in the long term.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

17 Is the New 15: Changing Alcohol Consumption among Swedish Youth

Raninen

Livingston

Ramstedt

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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To examine and compare trends in drinking prevalence in nationally representative samples of Swedish 9th and 11th grade students between 2000 and 2018. A further aim is to compare drinking behaviours in the two age groups during years with similar drinking prevalence. Data were drawn from annual surveys of a nationally representative sample of students in year 9 (15–16 years old) and year 11 (17–18 years old). The data covered 19 years for year 9 and 16 years for year 11. Two reference years where the prevalence of drinking was similar were extracted for further comparison, 2018 for year 11 (n = 4878) and 2005 for year 9 (n = 5423). The reference years were compared with regard to the volume of drinking, heavy episodic drinking, having had an accident and quarrelling while drunk. The prevalence of drinking declined in both age groups during the study period. The rate of decline was somewhat higher among year 9 students. In 2018, the prevalence of drinking was the same for year 11 students as it was for year 9 students in 2005. The volume of drinking was lower among year 11 students in 2018 than year 9 students in 2005. No differences were observed for heavy episodic drinking. The decline in drinking has caused a displacement of consumption so that today’s 17–18-year-olds have a similar drinking behaviour to what 15–16-year-olds had in 2005.

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“…As we have noted elsewhere [14], the field of alcohol studies is sorely lacking in competing theories to explain population‐level shifts in behaviour. Recent declines in youth drinking have prompted some new theoretical work [52–54], but the striking cross‐generational differences identified here emphasize the need for broader thinking.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Declines in alcohol consumption in Australia: some challenges to the theory of collectivity

2021

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Background and Aims There is significant debate about whether or not changes in per‐capita alcohol consumption occur collectively across the entire distribution of drinking. This study used data from a decade of declining drinking in Australia to test the collectivity of drinking trends. Design Repeated cross‐sectional surveys (2010, 2013, 2016, 2019), analysed with quantile regression techniques assessing trends in drinking for 20 quantile groups. Setting Australia. Participants A general population sample (total n = 85 891; males = 39 182, females = 46 709) aged 14 years and over. Measurements Past‐year volume of alcohol consumed was measured using standard graduated frequency survey questions. Models were stratified by sex and age group. Findings Throughout the whole population, alcohol consumption had declined in all percentile groups, with the largest proportional declines evident for light and moderate drinkers [e.g. drinkers in the 25th percentile declined by 32.7%; 95% confidence interval (CI) = ‐41.6, ‐22.3% per wave]. Broadly collective declines were also found for younger men and women with significant declines in every percentile group, but older groups showed some evidence of polarization. For example, women aged 45–64 years significantly increased their consumption (2.9% per wave, 95% CI = 0.3–5.5%), while consumption for those in the 25th percentile fell significantly (‐16.7%, 95% CI = –27.6, ‐4.2%). Conclusions The declines in Australian drinking since 2010 have included important deviations from the collectivity predicted by Skog's influential theory of collectivity of drinking, with markedly different patterns evident among different demographic groups.

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“No one associates alcohol with being in good health”: Health and wellbeing as imperatives to manage alcohol use for young people

Cited by 30 publications

References 41 publications

Distilling the curriculum: An analysis of alcohol industry-funded school-based youth education programmes

Distilling the curriculum: An analysis of alcohol industry-funded school-based youth education programmes

17 Is the New 15: Changing Alcohol Consumption among Swedish Youth

Declines in alcohol consumption in Australia: some challenges to the theory of collectivity

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