MARK PETTICREW, NASON MAANI, LUISA PETTIGREW, HARRY RUTTER, and MAY C I VAN SCHALKWYK
The Milbank Quarterly, Vol. 98, No. 4, 2020 (pp. 1290-1328)
Policy Points:
Nudges steer people toward certain options but also allow them to go
their own way. “Dark nudges” aim to change consumer behavior against
their best interests. “Sludge” uses cognitive biases to make behavior
change more difficult.
We have identified dark nudges and sludge in alcohol industry corporate
social responsibility (CSR) materials. These undermine the information
on alcohol harms that they disseminate, and may normalize or encourage
alcohol consumption.
Policymakers and practitioners should be aware of how dark nudges
and sludge are used by the alcohol industry to promote misinformation
about alcohol harms to the public