Register      Login
Public Health Research and Practice Public Health Research and Practice Society
The peer-reviewed journal of the Sax Institute
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > PU > PU19408
RESEARCH ARTICLE (Open Access)
Contents Vol 33(1)

The availability and promotion of low alcohol beverages in licensed venues: an environmental audit on the Gold Coast, Australia

Blake Palmer A B * , Christopher Irwin A B , Christina Mailer A and Ben Desbrow A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

B Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia

C Daffodil Centre, University of Sydney, a joint venture with Cancer Council NSW, Australia

* Correspondence to: blake.palmer@griffith.edu.au

Public Health Research and Practice 33, e3312306 https://doi.org/10.17061/phrp3312306
Published: 15 March 2023

2023 © Palmer et al. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence, which allows others to redistribute, adapt and share this work non-commercially provided they attribute the work and any adapted version of it is distributed under the same Creative Commons licence terms.

Abstract

Objectives: Low-alcohol beverages (LABs) are becoming increasingly popular and more accepted in Australia. However, the extent to which these products are accessible in licensed venues remains unknown. This investigation aimed to explore the availability, visibility, advertising, and promotion of LAB products at licensed venues. Study type: A cross-sectional environmental audit of licensed venues in four entertainment locations on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Methods: An audit tool was developed. Licensed venues selected for auditing included bars, pubs, clubs, and nightclubs. Consent for conducting the audits was obtained from selected venues. Audits involved a walk-through of each venue’s public areas and a review of their beverage menu to observe availability, visibility, advertising, and promotion of LAB products. Results: A total of 58 venues were identified, with 32 (55%) providing written consent to audit. Overall, 18 venues (56%) offered patrons the opportunity to purchase LAB products. At bar service areas, LAB products were ‘not visible’ in 20 (63%) venues, and ‘somewhat visible’ in 12 (38%) venues. No bar service areas displayed LAB products with ‘high visibility’. Of 29 beverage menus audited, 10 (34%) displayed LAB products, with varying levels of visibility. LAB-related advertising and/or promotion was not identified in any of the venues. Conclusions: LABs were available in approximately half the licensed venues audited; however, the visibility and promotion of these products w–re poor. There is capacity to improve access to and promote lower alcohol alternatives within licensed venues.