The negative effects of consuming alcohol have been studied and proven again and again over, but this has not deterred people from indulging in excessive drinking. Scientists have now found an efficient method to get people to lower their alcohol intake.

The study, published within the journal Addictive Behaviors, has found that using concepts like “why to cut back” with “find out how to reduce” proved to be very effective in anti-alcohol TV advertisements.

Various agencies have tried different approaches to stop people from excessive drinking. Alcohol consumption is linked to seven percent of worldwide premature deaths, in line with a WHO report. It causes a myriad of problems like cancer, premature death, heart disease, and digestive issues.

This study used the cancer-causing nature of alcohol as a deterrent combined with advising people to count their drinks. And it worked.

“We found that pairing details about alcohol and cancer with a selected practical motion – counting their drinks – resulted in drinkers reducing the quantity of alcohol they consumed,” lead researcher Simone Pettigrew from The George Institute for Global Health, said.

The study registered participants in three different online surveys over the course of six weeks. In the primary survey, 7,995 people were involved; in the second conducted three weeks later, 4,588 of the group participated while in the ultimate one, 2,687 people accomplished the survey three weeks after the second.

Each of the participants was randomly assigned to eight groups. The primary was a control group while the second was shown the “why to cut back” television commercial. Of the following three groups, each was shown one in every of the “find out how to reduce” messages — counting drinks, sticking to a selected variety of drinks, and the third being it’s okay to say no.

Three more groups were shown the “why to cut back” ad combined with each of the three “find out how to reduce” messages.

The group that showed a major reduction in alcohol intake was the one which saw the “why to cut back” TV ad talking in regards to the link between drinking and cancer, together with the message that suggested counting drinks as an answer.

Other methods like asking people to determine the variety of drinks and sticking to it also showed promise, however the above-mentioned method remained essentially the most effective.

“Many individuals do not know that alcohol is a carcinogen,” Pettigrew said. “It is vital information that drinkers must have access to. But telling people alcohol causes cancer is just a part of the answer – we also need to offer them ways to take motion to cut back their risk.”

It could actually be noted that this study predominantly comprised subjects that were “broadly demographically representative of the Australian drinking public.” It could not guarantee that this method will work effectively elsewhere, nevertheless, counting drinks is a superb choice to try to dissuade people from excessive drinking.

“There are limited resources available for alcohol harm-reduction campaigns, so it is important to seek out out which messages resonate best to make sure they’ve one of the best probability of working,” Pettigrew stated.