“They start on the zero-alcohol and they wanna try the real thing”: Parents' views on zero-alcohol beverages and their use by adolescents

Objective: Zero-alcohol beverages containing 0.0–0.5% alcohol by volume may offer public health benefits if individuals use them to substitute for alcohol-containing products, thereby reducing alcohol use. There are, however, concerns that zero-alcohol beverages may encourage adolescents’ earlier interest in alcohol and increase exposure to alcohol company branding. As this poses a challenge for parents, we studied parents’ views on zero-alcohol beverages and their provision to adolescents.

Methods: We interviewed n=38 parents of 12–17-year-olds and used reflexive thematic analysis to interpret interview data.

Results: Parents considered zero-alcohol beverages to be ‘adult beverages’ that potentially supported reduced adult drinking but were unnecessary for adolescents. Parents were concerned that adolescent zero-alcohol beverage use could normalise alcohol consumption and be a precursor to alcohol initiation. There was a potential conflict between moderate provision in ‘appropriate’ contexts, and potential benefits, which were each supported by some parents. Uncertainty on health qualities was also reported. 

Conclusions: Parents reported conflicting and cautious views on zero-alcohol beverage provision to adolescents.

Implications for Public Health: As evidence on the impacts of zero-alcohol beverage availability develops, parent-targeted messages highlighting the potential risk of normalisation of alcohol use for young people could be developed, in conjunction with broader policy responses.