Alcohol advertising and public health

Posted on 8 November 2016

A new paper, co-authored by Theo Lorenc with colleagues from LSHTM, UCL and elsewhere, investigates the possibility of taking a ‘systems’ perspectives on systematic reviews, using alcohol advertising as an example.

The paper argues that focusing narrowly on evidence for the effectiveness of advertising restrictions on reducing consumption, and excluding indirect evidence on the links between advertising exposure and consumption, fails to capture the system-level impacts of advertising. The framing of systematic review questions, and the choice of methodologies, can have important consequences in terms of the understanding of policy.

Petticrew M, Shemilt I, Lorenc T, Marteau TM, Melendez-Torres GJ, O’Mara-Eves A, Stautz K, Thomas J. Alcohol advertising and public health: systems perspectives versus narrow perspectives. Journal Epidemiol Community Health Online First 27 October 2016, doi:10.1136/jech-2016-207644