Awareness of Alcohol as a Carcinogen and Support for Alcohol Control Policies
Menée aux Etats-Unis à partir des données d'une enquête réalisée en 2020 auprès de 3 865 participants, cette étude analyse l'association entre les connaissances sur le potentiel cancérogène de l'alcool et le soutien aux politiques de prévention sur la consommation d'alcool
Introduction: Alcohol use increases cancer risk, yet awareness of this association is low. Alcohol control policies have the potential to reduce alcohol-caused cancer morbidity and mortality. Research outside the U.S. has found awareness of the alcohol–cancer link to be associated with support for alcohol control policies. The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence of support for 3 communication-focused alcohol policies and examine how awareness of the alcohol–cancer link and drinking status are associated with policy support among U.S. residents. Methods: Investigators analyzed data from the 2020 Health Information National Trends Survey 5 Cycle 4. Analyses were performed in 2021. The proportion of Americans who supported banning outdoor alcohol advertising and adding warning labels and drinking guidelines to alcohol containers was estimated. Weighted multivariable logistic regression was used to examine how awareness of the alcohol–cancer link and drinking status were associated with policy support. Results: Most Americans supported adding warning labels (65.1%) and drinking guidelines (63.9%), whereas only 34.4% supported banning outdoor alcohol advertising. Americans reporting that alcohol had no effect/decreased cancer risk had lower odds of support for advertising ban (OR=0.56), warning labels (OR=0.43), and guidelines (OR=0.46) than Americans aware of the alcohol–cancer link. Moreover, heavier drinkers had lower odds of support for advertising ban (OR=0.41), warning labels (OR=0.59), and guidelines (OR=0.60) than nondrinkers. Conclusions: Awareness of the alcohol–cancer link was associated with policy support. Increasing public awareness of the alcohol–cancer link may increase support for alcohol control policies.