Comparing teenagers' perceived exposure to Digital Alcohol Marketing and its impact in 6 European regulation frameworks

Background:

Further to an expert consultation process involving experts from 13 countries in Europe and Canada, six research organisations coordinated by the French REITOX NFP (OFDT) are comparing how specific regulatory controls can influence teenagers’ awareness of and exposure to Audiovisual and Digital Alcohol Marketing (ADAM) in Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania and Western Switzerland. With French public funding, this study aims at better apprehend the lessons that can be learned from specific national regulations of ADAM and their implementation story. The three study parts have been implemented in the first semester 2024 and results will be published by the end of 2025.

Methods: 

A common mixed-method has been applied in the six participating countries that combines a thematic review of existing regulations on ADAM with qualitative and quantitative studies among teenagers aged 16 to 19. For comparative purpose, the thematic review was based on a PRISMA engineering with shared search strategies and selection criteria. For the semi-structured interviews of the qualitative part, investigators have applied common strategy to recruit interviewees, with the same contact method through Instagram and selection criteria and they shared common guidelines and grid. The French coordinator has centralised the websurvey to implement it in the 6 countries, with specific sample size according to the country. The questionnaire was co-built by partners around the topics 

Results: 

Such a collaboration between university teams, research institutes and NGO around the issue of alcohol control policies is feasible and fruitful. During the first trimester of 2024, around 100 semi-structured interviews (20 per country) explored drinking culture, awareness and acceptability of the regulatory framework. In Spring 2024, the websurvey targeted at least 300 to 600 teenagers sampled per country and investigated ADAM exposure as well as corelated alcohol use and purchase, according to the different national control policies and regulation.

Conclusions 

The study should help to draw conclusions about the empowering (marketing awareness) and protective (less exposure) nature of statutory (State) regulation compared with (liberal) self-regulation in the field of ADAM.