Suboptimal industry adherence to the design specifications of the mandatory pregnancy warning label
Objective: To assess whether products sold in the Australian alcohol market are displaying the mandatory pregnancy warning label as per the design requirements. Methods: Between June and November 2023, data collectors photographed 5,964 unique alcoholic products from three Sydney alcohol retailers....
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1326020025000172 |
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| _version_ | 1849422333561798656 |
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| author | Asad Yusoff Bella Sträuli Alexandra Jones Paula O’Brien Jacquie Bowden Michelle Jongenelis Aimee Brownbill Tim Stockwell Simone Pettigrew |
| author_facet | Asad Yusoff Bella Sträuli Alexandra Jones Paula O’Brien Jacquie Bowden Michelle Jongenelis Aimee Brownbill Tim Stockwell Simone Pettigrew |
| author_sort | Asad Yusoff |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective: To assess whether products sold in the Australian alcohol market are displaying the mandatory pregnancy warning label as per the design requirements. Methods: Between June and November 2023, data collectors photographed 5,964 unique alcoholic products from three Sydney alcohol retailers. A random sample of 20% of the 3,760 products displaying the mandatory pregnancy warning label was analysed to assess whether they met the design requirements outlined in the Food Standards Code. Results: Across the sample, 11% of products displaying the mandatory pregnancy label did not do so correctly. Adherence was lowest for spirits (73%), then wine (90%), beer (94%) and premix (97%). In terms of package type, adherence was lowest for individual beverages in containers >800 ml in volume (74%). Conclusions: The findings indicate that the application of the mandatory pregnancy warning label may be suboptimal in the Australian alcohol market. The lower adherence among spirits and wine products is concerning given their higher alcohol content. Implications for Public Health: For the effectiveness of the mandatory pregnancy warning label to be optimised, it must be displayed as per specifications. There is a need for ongoing compliance monitoring to improve adherence. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-06e303e63f044b92a018fabf0a9198fa |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1326-0200 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-06e303e63f044b92a018fabf0a9198fa2025-08-20T03:31:07ZengElsevierAustralian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health1326-02002025-06-0149310023610.1016/j.anzjph.2025.100236Suboptimal industry adherence to the design specifications of the mandatory pregnancy warning labelAsad Yusoff0Bella Sträuli1Alexandra Jones2Paula O’Brien3Jacquie Bowden4Michelle Jongenelis5Aimee Brownbill6Tim Stockwell7Simone Pettigrew8The George Institute for Global Health, Australia; Correspondence to: Asad Yusoff, The George Institute for Global Health, Three International Towers, Level 18/300 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo NSW 2000, Australia; Tel.: 0432 439 053The George Institute for Global Health, AustraliaThe George Institute for Global Health, AustraliaMelbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, AustraliaNational Centre for Education and Training on Addiction (NCETA), Flinders University, AustraliaMelbourne Centre for Behaviour Change, University of Melbourne, AustraliaFoundation for Alcohol Research and Education (FARE), AustraliaDepartment of Psychology, University of Victoria, CanadaThe George Institute for Global Health, AustraliaObjective: To assess whether products sold in the Australian alcohol market are displaying the mandatory pregnancy warning label as per the design requirements. Methods: Between June and November 2023, data collectors photographed 5,964 unique alcoholic products from three Sydney alcohol retailers. A random sample of 20% of the 3,760 products displaying the mandatory pregnancy warning label was analysed to assess whether they met the design requirements outlined in the Food Standards Code. Results: Across the sample, 11% of products displaying the mandatory pregnancy label did not do so correctly. Adherence was lowest for spirits (73%), then wine (90%), beer (94%) and premix (97%). In terms of package type, adherence was lowest for individual beverages in containers >800 ml in volume (74%). Conclusions: The findings indicate that the application of the mandatory pregnancy warning label may be suboptimal in the Australian alcohol market. The lower adherence among spirits and wine products is concerning given their higher alcohol content. Implications for Public Health: For the effectiveness of the mandatory pregnancy warning label to be optimised, it must be displayed as per specifications. There is a need for ongoing compliance monitoring to improve adherence.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1326020025000172alcohol labelingpregnancy warningalcohol policyregulation |
| spellingShingle | Asad Yusoff Bella Sträuli Alexandra Jones Paula O’Brien Jacquie Bowden Michelle Jongenelis Aimee Brownbill Tim Stockwell Simone Pettigrew Suboptimal industry adherence to the design specifications of the mandatory pregnancy warning label Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health alcohol labeling pregnancy warning alcohol policy regulation |
| title | Suboptimal industry adherence to the design specifications of the mandatory pregnancy warning label |
| title_full | Suboptimal industry adherence to the design specifications of the mandatory pregnancy warning label |
| title_fullStr | Suboptimal industry adherence to the design specifications of the mandatory pregnancy warning label |
| title_full_unstemmed | Suboptimal industry adherence to the design specifications of the mandatory pregnancy warning label |
| title_short | Suboptimal industry adherence to the design specifications of the mandatory pregnancy warning label |
| title_sort | suboptimal industry adherence to the design specifications of the mandatory pregnancy warning label |
| topic | alcohol labeling pregnancy warning alcohol policy regulation |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1326020025000172 |
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