Consumer Response to Media Information: The Case of Grapefruit-Drug Interaction

There is an extensive literature examining the role of media information and coverage on influencing consumer perception and behavior, particularly with respect to food choices. Consumer response to media information on food-drug interactions has yet to be examined. The goal of this research is to measure the effect of media exposure on grapefruit/grapefruit juice consumption, with particular attention on news relating to grapefruit-drug interaction. A survey is employed to understand respondent attitudes about health news on TV and the internet and to measure the effect of media coverage on consumption changes of grapefruit and grapefruit juice. A sample selection model modified to account for ordered responses is used to account consumers exposed versus not exposed to such information. Results show that consumer attitudes toward health news were significantly related to exposure to media information on grapefruit. Also, exposure to grapefruit drug-interaction does have a tendency to result in reduced consumption, in particular aged consumers, however, only a small proportion of consumers are both exposed to such media and are active consumers of grapefruit/grapefruit juice.