Study finds an effective strategy to limit alcohol consumption

The new year is just around the corner and many of us are already making plans of how to celebrate the New Year's Eve. Family, friends, food and alcohol are likely to be part of all the festivities. But some of us may also be worried about avoiding excess booze.

Alcoholism is a global problem irrespective of countries, ethnicities, and demographics. Alcoholism does not only hasadverse effects on a person who is drinking, but their familiestoo. An interesting study has suggested a way to make a person drink less. However, it is not specifically directed toward alcoholics or social drinkers.

The study has been reported by ScienceAlert and reportedly involved researchers from The George Institute for Global Health.

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So what was found in the study?

Three surveys were carried out for this study. The first one was completed by 7995 people. Three weeks later, 4588 of these people completed the second survey. Another three weeks after that, 2687 people took the third survey.

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While adverse health effects of alcoholism are generally known and isassociate with heart disease, premature death, dementia, and digestive issues, not many people know the link between alcoholism and cancer.

The participants in the study were divided into different groups and were shown advertisements showing the link between alcohol and cancer.

Some of the participantsreportedly suggested strategies like counting their drinks to limit their alcohol intake.

It was reportedly found that people who were shown the link between alcohol and cancer reduced their intake. This strategy was found to be more effective than the one in which people were just advised to count their drinks to limit their alcohol intake.

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Many people don't know that alcohol is a carcinogen," said Simone Pettigrew, an economist and psychology from The George Institue for Global Health.

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"It's important information that drinkers should have access to. But telling people alcohol causes cancer is just part of the solution – we also need to give them ways to take action to reduce their risk."

The World Health Organization has said in the past that 7 per cent of deaths worldwide could be attributed to alcoholism. The agency has said that if drinkers are effectively made aware of the problems related to alcohol, it may nudge them towards reducing intake or quitting alcohol.

ScienceAlert has reported that the participants in the study were "broadly demographically representative of the Australian drinking public"

The study, carried out two years ago, was published in journal Addictive Behaviour.

(With inputs from agencies)