NOLOS - IMPROVING OR WORSENING ALCOHOL RELATED HARM? THE CHALLENGE
The NoLo (no and low alcohol) drinks market is growing.
But evidence around whether this expanding market is a good thing, or could help improve public health, is very limited.
Alongside this, the UK government is exploring the role that NoLos might play in improving public health, pledging to work alongside the alcohol industry to increase NoLo availability by 2025.
Emily Nicholls from the University of York, funded by the Institute of Alcohol Studies, set out to investigate how NoLo drinks are marketed and consumed in the UK.
THE RESEARCH The research investigated the latest campaigns and marketing materials of two prominent NoLo brands: Heinken 0.0 and Seedlip spirits; and conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 drinkers and non-drinkers who consume NoLos.
NoLo marketing uses problematic strategies, including: • addition marketing encouraging people to drink NoLos on top of - not instead of - usual consumption; • stealth marketing, or promoting the alcohol brand as a whole.
NoLo campaigns also: • reinforce stereotypes around gender and drinking • continue to position drinking as the norm • make health claims or associations that may be confusing for consumers.
However, consumers are aware of and skeptical of these strategies and don’t feel the ‘addition’ approach describes how they actually use NoLos.
Drinkers and non-drinkers value the availability and flexibility of NoLos, with drinkers often adopting a ‘hybrid’ model for using them e.g. drinking NoLos during the week or at home and alcohol at the weekend or when going out.
POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS
NoLos could help to ease alcohol-related harm by offering an alternative, but also exacerbate it through unregulated marketing and the promotion of drinking norms.
Review and potentially restrict NoLo marketing.
Designed by Nifty Fox Creative, 2022.
Incorporate NoLos in current public health campaigns around alcohol by positioning them as practical strategies to reduce weekly units and promoting the immediate beneficial effects of drinking NoLos for mental and physical health.
There is a place for NoLos, but they must be regulated and marketed mindfully. To find out more, contact Lead Researcher Dr Emily Nicholls: emily.nicholls@york.ac.uk