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There is a growing body of research into the utilisation of social networking sites (SNS) by alcohol marketers, but less research into how young people utilise SNS to create their own meanings of, and interactions with, alcohol. The purpose of this study was to explore young adults’ perceptions of the nexus between alcohol and SNS.

In total, 60 adults aged 18-21 years took part in an intensive data collection process over six months. All references to social media in the interviews, focus groups and written introspections were compiled and analysed.

Results showed social media use stimulates alcohol consumption and alcohol consumption stimulates social media use. Four main themes emerged: social engagement, identity, drinking culture and distancing. Participants reported being constantly exposed to, and often influenced by, images of their peers enjoying themselves while consuming alcohol, with little representation of negative outcomes.

The relationship between SNS, social norms and drinking behaviours is complex; there is a need for further research into the dynamics of this relationship to inform social marketing interventions.

While there is a body of research into commercial references to alcohol on SNS, there is less research into the ways young people utilise SNS to create their own meanings of, and interactions with, alcohol. The consumer research that has been conducted to date has focused on quantifying references to alcohol and drinking behaviours, observing profiles or surveying users. This study addresses a key gap in the literature that is needed to inform social marketing interventions to reduce excessive alcohol consumption: when, why and how do young people post about alcohol.

Alcohol sponsorship of sport is common in Australia, with much debate about the appropriateness of linking sport with alcohol advertising and promotion. This paper provides examples of such sponsorships to appreciate the extent and nature of the complex relationship between sport and alcohol sponsors. The public health and policy implications of alcohol sponsorship of sport extending to creating a sporting competition purely to promote an alcohol brand are considered.

Pamphlets are widely used by health authorities to inform the public about diseases, and it is essential that the information therein is accurate. This study reviewed the consistency of information on breast cancer screening in materials produced and distributed by Australian health authorities. The study found that there was a clear lack of consensus in terms of the stated lifetime risk of breast cancer; while most agreed that being a woman and increasing age were the major risk factors, there was far less agreement about other risk factors, and the specific representation of symptoms was one of the areas of greatest inconsistency. It appears that this lack of consensus is not unique to Australia, but exists in other countries. Material produced by health authorities is seen by the general public as “expert” opinion, and should be able to correct inaccurate perceptions generated by exposure to other sources. There is a need to develop and disseminate messages that provide women with an accurate understanding of breast cancer and breast cancer screening.

In many countries there is emerging concern regarding alliances between the pharmaceutical industry and health non‐profit organizations (NPOs), and the increase of co‐sponsored marketing activities such as disease awareness advertising. The current study aims to explore Australian women's perceptions of disease awareness advertising with differing sponsors, to determine whether their attitudes towards the sponsor and their reported behavioural intentions differ as a function of the perceived sponsor or co‐sponsor.

Older women (aged 50+) were approached by mall‐intercept method in a metropolitan area in New South Wales, Australia. Consenting participants were randomly assigned an advertisement with an NPO sponsor, pharmaceutical company sponsor, or a combination of the two (co‐sponsored). Each participant viewed advertisements for two health conditions (fibromyalgia and osteopenia) with the same sponsor manipulation, and completed a one‐page questionnaire after reading each advertisement.

Participants had significantly more positive attitudes towards the NPO‐sponsored advertisement than the pharmaceutical company‐sponsored advertisement or the co‐sponsored advertisement. Participants with more positive attitudes towards the sponsor were significantly more likely to report an intention to take action, such as to look for more information or to talk to their doctor.

The results suggest that an NPO‐sponsored advertisement promoting awareness about a disease or health condition is more effective without the co‐sponsorship of a pharmaceutical company.

This is the only identified research into attitudes towards sponsors of disease awareness advertising that considers pharmaceutical companies and health NPOs and is important, given the increasing trend of disease advertising and cause‐related marketing in Australia and internationally.

Given the role that food marketing plays in influencing dietary patterns in children, the aim of this article is to explore the internet‐based marketing tactics employed by eight leading Australian food companies that produce and distribute foods that are predominantly consumed by children.

The marketing policies and child‐targeted internet marketing practices of eight major Australian food companies were examined.

Seven of the eight food companies have web sites or sections of sites that are devoted to children and/or teenagers; with downloadable materials and extensive direct marketing. Of most concern was the collection of detailed personal information from children and/or teenagers, which was evident on the web sites of five of the seven food companies that have such sites.

This study examined only eight Australia food companies, so the findings cannot be generalized to other companies, or companies in other countries. The study was conducted at a specific point in time and, given rapid changes in internet marketing, it is likely that new strategies and messages will have emerged since data collection.

The article provides a unique snapshot of internet marketing practices of a sample of Australian food companies targeting children and adolescents, and raises important issues for discussion regarding the appropriateness and ethics of some of these practices.

The paper aims to explore the apparent tension between upstream and downstream social marketing and propose these should be treated as contiguous and complementary.

An environmental, population‐based framework is used to explore the varied roles social marketing might play in reducing public health problems.

The paper concludes that social marketers should collaborate with public health researchers to identify and ameliorate the environmental determinants of risk behaviour and create a context where downstream interventions may flourish. It is argued that the upstream measures necessary to shape supportive environments should be regarded not as constraints diminishing voluntary behaviour, but instead as the pre‐requisites enabling full and free choices.

The call for a rapprochement between upstream and downstream social marketers, and greater integration of public health and social marketing goals lead to new research opportunities that focus more effectively on consumers' choice environments.

A united voice calling for policy change that precedes and promotes individual behaviour change may help create stronger and more supportive choice environments in which risk behaviours are no longer the “easy” option.

The tension between upstream and downstream social marketing risks limiting the contribution both approaches may make and overlooks their mutual dependency. This paper evaluates this tension and suggests how it might be addressed.

Repeated exposure to unrealistic notions of female beauty and body shapes, and limited gender stereotypes, may result in the internalization of those standards by pre‐adolescent girls. The purpose of this content analysis is to examine the celebrity role models to whom young girls are exposed via magazines specifically targeted at the “tween” audience. Female celebrities are contrasted with those in magazines targeted at older adolescent girls.

Two pre‐adolescent girls' magazines, Total Girl and Barbie, and two adolescent girls' magazines, Dolly and Girlfriend, were analyzed for the first six months of 2005. All photos (including advertising images) of female celebrities were recorded along with image context; celebrity occupation and age were researched.

Results showed that there was little difference between pre‐adolescent girls' magazines and adolescent magazines in the frequency of celebrity images, and surprisingly only minimal difference in the average age of featured celebrities (22 compared with 23 years old). The occupations of the most frequent celebrities (in all magazines) were limited to actors, singers, and socialites. Further examination of the 12 most frequent celebrities appearing in the pre‐adolescent magazines identified that many of them were publicly recorded as engaging in behaviors such as disordered eating and drug use.

The study is novel in its analysis of celebrities in pre‐adolescent magazines, which have grown in popularity over the last decade. The frequent appearance of relatively older celebrities who could be considered age‐inappropriate role‐models is cause for concern; educational interventions that focus on criticality towards female beauty standards need to be reinforced in primary schools.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of portrayed smoking status of actors on their popularity with both smoking and non‐smoking young people, as well as their perceptions of the prevalence of smoking

Two experimental studies were conducted with Australian undergraduate university students, in which students were exposed to different versions of mock magazines featuring images of actors smoking and not smoking, as well as control actors.

The attitudes of young people towards well‐known actors were little influenced by the presence or absence of cigarettes, but non‐smoking actors were perceived more favourably when depicted in a group with smoking actors. Smoking actors tended to be preferred by young people who smoked. The results of both studies confirm that young people's estimates of smoking prevalence are considerably inflated.

The results of the current study suggest two key implications for health education: the need to address young people's elevated perceptions of smoking prevalence among their peers, parents, and celebrities by communicating the social norm of non‐smoking; and the potential use of celebrities – such as actors – as spokespersons or role models in anti‐smoking campaigns.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the features of alcopops which make them attractive to Australian adolescents, which features are most important in determining choice of ready‐to‐drinks (RTDs) over other alcoholic drinks, and whether these vary by age and gender.

Mixed methods study. Participants in Study 1 (focus groups) were 72 adolescents aged 12‐17 from New South Wales, Australia; four groups each from Sydney (metropolitan area), Wollongong (regional) and Dubbo (rural); and in Study 2 (survey), 1,263 adolescents aged 12‐17 recruited through schools, mall intercepts, and online.

The predominant factor influencing preference for alcopops across both genders was taste, followed by alcohol strength and cost, although the association between price and choice was complex. Convenience was an important factor, including ease of carrying and concealing, as was the physical appearance (particularly for younger drinkers). Non‐drinkers and experimental drinkers reported that advertising was a key influencer.

These results elaborate on previous research, indicating that alcopops are appealing to young people for a number of reasons (including taste, cost and alcohol strength), many of which differ in importance depending on age and gender. Given that advertising was found to be a key factor in the preference for alcopops, alcohol‐related media literacy education may help young people to resist these harmful persuasive messages.

This study goes beyond previous research into the role of taste preferences to explore the complexity of reasons for adolescents' alcohol consumption. In doing so, this research provides the basis for future educational and policy interventions.

This paper examines the believability of strong warnings about the negative consequences of drug use among young adults in Australia who have never tried, currently use, or have tried and rejected cannabis. It finds that the strong warnings about cannabis are generally believed by never‐triers. The same warnings are perceived by current users as only slightly believable. Surprisingly, but also consistent with cognitive dissonance, trier‐rejecters of cannabis are the most likely, more so even than never‐triers, to believe the warnings about cannabis. The paper also examines warnings about cocaine and heroin by cannabis usage status. Current users of cannabis, compared with non‐users, perceive the warnings about the harmful effects of cocaine as less believable, suggesting possible “gateway” susceptibility to trial of this drug. But for heroin, all groups perceive the warnings very believable. The beliefs about particular negative consequences that are most likely to lead to discontinuation of use of cannabis, and those that should discourage uptake of cocaine and heroin, are identified.