TY - JOUR
T1 - The Federal Trade Commission’s mandated Four Loko labeling fails to facilitate accurate estimation of alcohol content by college students
AU - Rossheim, Matthew E.
AU - Yurasek, Ali M.
AU - Greene, Kaylin M.
AU - Gonzalez-Pons, Kwynn M.
AU - Barry, Adam E.
AU - Thombs, Dennis L.
AU - Trangenstein, Pamela J.
AU - Nelson, Candace
AU - Cavazos, Tammy
AU - Treffers, Ryan D.
AU - Jernigan, David H.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Copyright:
Copyright 2020 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2020/7/3
Y1 - 2020/7/3
N2 - Background: Four Loko, the leading supersized alcopop brand, is a pre-mixed alcoholic beverage containing up to 5.5 standard alcoholic drinks in a can. In 2013, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) mandated the addition to Four Loko cans of a label indicating its alcohol content in standard drinks, presented as “alcohol per serving” and “servings per container.” Objective: The current study investigated whether college students accurately estimate the alcohol content in cans of Four Loko bearing the FTC mandated labels. Method: Undergraduate student drinkers (n = 833; 51.6% women) in three states (Florida, Montana, and Virginia) were provided an empty Watermelon Four Loko can and asked to determine the number of standard drinks it contained, using 12-ounce regular beer (Budweiser) equivalents. In Florida and Virginia, Watermelon Four Loko contains 4.70 standard alcoholic drinks; in Montana, it contains 3.13. Results: More than 60% of Florida students and more than 70% of Virginia students underestimated Four Loko’s alcohol content by one or more standard drinks, compared to 45% of Montana students. Multivariable logistic regression analysis found the following variables were associated with greater odds of underestimating Four Loko’s alcohol content by one or more standard alcoholic drinks: being female (AOR = 2.2), having never seen nor heard of Four Loko (AOR = 1.9), and residing in Florida (AOR = 1.7) or Virginia (AOR = 2.8) versus Montana. Conclusions: Students were far less likely to underestimate alcohol content for 8% alcohol-by-volume (abv) cans compared to those with higher alcohol concentrations. Thus, policies restricting supersized alcopops’ abv may help consumers better estimate their alcohol content.
AB - Background: Four Loko, the leading supersized alcopop brand, is a pre-mixed alcoholic beverage containing up to 5.5 standard alcoholic drinks in a can. In 2013, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) mandated the addition to Four Loko cans of a label indicating its alcohol content in standard drinks, presented as “alcohol per serving” and “servings per container.” Objective: The current study investigated whether college students accurately estimate the alcohol content in cans of Four Loko bearing the FTC mandated labels. Method: Undergraduate student drinkers (n = 833; 51.6% women) in three states (Florida, Montana, and Virginia) were provided an empty Watermelon Four Loko can and asked to determine the number of standard drinks it contained, using 12-ounce regular beer (Budweiser) equivalents. In Florida and Virginia, Watermelon Four Loko contains 4.70 standard alcoholic drinks; in Montana, it contains 3.13. Results: More than 60% of Florida students and more than 70% of Virginia students underestimated Four Loko’s alcohol content by one or more standard drinks, compared to 45% of Montana students. Multivariable logistic regression analysis found the following variables were associated with greater odds of underestimating Four Loko’s alcohol content by one or more standard alcoholic drinks: being female (AOR = 2.2), having never seen nor heard of Four Loko (AOR = 1.9), and residing in Florida (AOR = 1.7) or Virginia (AOR = 2.8) versus Montana. Conclusions: Students were far less likely to underestimate alcohol content for 8% alcohol-by-volume (abv) cans compared to those with higher alcohol concentrations. Thus, policies restricting supersized alcopops’ abv may help consumers better estimate their alcohol content.
KW - Supersized alcopops
KW - alcohol labeling
KW - college students
KW - flavored alcoholic beverages
KW - ready-to-drink
KW - standard alcoholic drinks
KW - underage drinking
KW - underestimation of alcohol content
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85074012564&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/00952990.2019.1671438
DO - 10.1080/00952990.2019.1671438
M3 - Article
C2 - 31592678
AN - SCOPUS:85074012564
SN - 0095-2990
VL - 46
SP - 430
EP - 437
JO - American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
JF - American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
IS - 4
ER -