Personal health narrative “Alcohol is bad for your health” We frequently find the above message in the media as a health education message; this is the dominant narrative. In this narrative, we force readers to think about the illnesses that alcohol drinking may cause. This frame results in two unintended consequences: Responsible drinking narrative “Drink responsibly” The industry invariably turns back and says that, This individualistic, neoliberal thinking dominates even in the public health field when it comes to interventions; the most popular intervention is to educate people about the dangers of alcohol consumption and “responsible drinking”; of course, it…

In 1989, Northern Illinois University wanted to reduce students’ high-risk (binge) drinking behaviour. Its researchers adopted the social norms theory to craft messages for their social marketing campaign. This is their story. This post refers to Michael Haines’s research paper published in 1996. and the Social Norms National Research and Resources website. Step 1: They began with a situational analysis. They surveyed students for their perceptions and drinking behaviour when partying in 1988. Of all students, 69.7 per cent of students perceived that they binge drink (more than five drinks) when partying, But, in reality, only 43 per cent of…