Support for Alcohol Control Policies Among US Alcohol Consumers

Alcohol control policies are associated with lower alcohol-related disability and death. Policymakers are more likely to adopt policies with higher public support, but it remains unknown which alcohol control policies currently garner the most public support in the US.

To determine the extent to which US adults who consume alcohol support alcohol control policies and whether support differs by behavioral and demographic characteristics.

This cross-sectional, online survey study of a nationally representative sample of US adults was conducted from September to October 2024. Adults aged 21 years or older who reported drinking at least 1 alcoholic beverage per week during the past 4 weeks were eligible.

The primary outcome was support for alcohol control policies (eg, requiring cancer warnings on alcohol containers or increasing alcohol taxes) measured on a 1 (strongly oppose) to 5 (strongly support) response scale. Associations of behavioral and demographic characteristics with policy support were estimated using average differential effects (ADEs; ie, differences in estimated mean overall support between groups on the 1-5 scale) were calculated.

A total of 1036 participants completed the survey (524 men [weighted percentage, 52%]; mean [SD] age, 49.4 [16.5] years; 138 [weighted percentage, 12%) Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish; 115 [weighted percentage, 11%] Black or African American; 681 [weighted percentage, 65%] White). Approximately one-half supported policies requiring alcohol containers to display cancer warnings (49%; 95% CI, 45% to 53%), drinks per container information (51%; 95% CI, 47% to 55%), and calorie content information (56%; 95% CI, 52%-60%). Likewise, 52% (95% CI, 48% to 56%) supported prohibiting alcohol advertisements on television when children are likely to be watching. Few participants (8% [95% CI, 6% to 11%] to 19% [95% CI, 16% to 23%]) opposed these policies. By contrast, fewer participants supported than opposed policies to lower the blood alcohol content limit for driving, prohibit alcohol sales late at night, and increase taxes on alcohol (range supporting: 16% [95% CI, 13% to 19%] to 25% [95% CI, 22% to 29%]); support was lowest for policies to reduce the number of outlets licensed to sell alcohol (10% [95% CI, 8% to 13%]). Across policies, support was greater among adults who reported drinking less often (ADE = -0.12; 95% CI, -0.23 to -0.02); not binge drinking (ADE = -0.15; 95% CI, -0.26 to -0.04); or reading the current alcohol health warning in the last 30 days (ADE = 0.14; 95% CI, 0.01 to 0.28); and among those who were women (ADE = 0.22; 95% CI, 0.11-0.32); Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish (ADE = 0.16; 95% CI, 0.001-0.33); Democrats (ADE = 0.14; 95% CI, 0.01-0.27); or political independents (ADE = 0.16; 95% CI, 0.02 to 0.29).

In this survey study of US adults who consume alcohol, many supported advertising and labeling alcohol control policies, and few opposed these policies. These results suggest that policymakers may wish to pursue advertising and labeling policies as a ground-softening strategy to build support for stronger policies such as increasing taxes or restricting the times and places alcohol can be sold.