Impact of a 10-year nation-wide alcohol campaign on knowledge of sensible drinking limits in Denmark

In Great Britain and in Denmark, strong efforts have been made to influence knowledge on upper threshold for hazardous drinking. In Denmark, a campaign has been repeated every week 40 from 1990 to 2000 with information on the sensible drinking limits of 21 drinks per week for men and 14 drinks per week for women. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of this ongoing campaign on the level of knowledge of sensible drinking limits for men and women. Random representative samples of 1030 adult Danes were telephone interviewed each year during 1994–1999. Our main finding was that the level of knowledge of sensible drinking limits for own sex increased in all subsets of the population throughout the period. However, at the end of the study period (1999) a total of 80% of highly educated young (18–25 years) men knew sensible drinking limits for own sex, while only 35% of uneducated older (more than 65 years) men had knowledge on sensible drinking limits. The proportions were similar among women. Subjects admitting an intake higher than sensible for own sex, i.e. 21 and 14 drinks per week, respectively, had the highest knowledge of these drinking limits. We conclude that public health campaigns, such as the sensible drinking limit campaign, certainly has an impact on level of awareness in the general population. Furthermore, those drinking more than 21 and 14 drinks per week, respectively, are reached by these campaigns.