Food as Harm Reduction during Alcohol Consumption Session: Reducing Harm or Normalising Heavy Alcohol Use?

The study findings add to the evidence that alcohol consumption, including heavy and high-risk consumption, is normalised within the online information space. Discussing heavy and high-risk alcohol consumption in the context of food may contribute to this normalisation. It is essential that all online sources of information on these topics consider whether they are promoting pro-alcohol, pro-consumption narratives, inadvertently or not. The fact that both Alcohol Industry-funded and non-AI-funded organisations shared many of these narratives requires further analysis.
From a policy perspective, health information sources that are assumed to be trustworthy and evidence-based, such as national guidelines, should ensure harm reduction messaging is informed by the best available evidence, and free from the influence of actors with conflicts of interests (e.g. commercial or financial).