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Public support for policies to control alcohol sales and consumption was surveyed in seven Minnesota communities. A total of 438 women and 383 men were asked to indicate their level of support of or opposition to nine different proposals designed to regulate alcohol. There was general support for all policies, which was strongly related to characteristics of respondents and type of policy proposed. Women were significantly more supportive of all items than were men. Marriage, older age and low alcohol consumption were also associated with support. Education and voter status generally were not. Policies and activities that serve primarily to protect youth received the strongest support. Restrictions and prohibitions such as limiting advertisements were less popular. The least support was expressed for increases in taxes on alcohol and for measures that would eliminate an existing practice such as prohibiting wine-cooler sales at convenience stores. The majority of respondents also indicated that they felt the individual, as opposed to the manufacturer or retailer, was responsible for problems associated with alcohol and should be the focus of intervention. Strategies for shifting the focus from the individual to environmental and regulatory control are discussed.

We report the results of a survey conducted in upper-midwestern communities to assess public attitudes toward policy level interventions to moderate the use of alcohol, tobacco, and high-fat food. Four hundred thirty-eight women and 383 men were asked to indicate how much they favored or did not favor 29 policy proposals. Results showed that regulatory controls in all three areas were favored by the general public. Support was strongest for alcohol and tobacco controls, less so for high-fat food. Interventions designed to protect children and youths were most strongly endorsed, followed by restrictions on advertising and direct control over conditions of sale. Women favored all interventions more than men. There was a strong positive association between age and support for measures to moderate alcohol use. Individuals reporting least personal use of alcohol, tobacco, and high-fat foods were most in favor of control policies. The results of this survey indicate specific measures that might be most readily enacted and what segments of the population are likely to be most and least receptive.

Public support of eight policies to regulate the sale and consumption of high-fat food was evaluated in a survey of 438 women and 383 men in seven Minnesota communities. The survey was part of the ongoing activities of the Minnesota Heart Health Program (MHHP). Respondents, when asked to indicate their level of support or opposition to each of eight policies, expressed general support for all but two. Women were consistently more supportive than men. Other sociodemographic characteristics and reported use of food and other substances were generally not predictive of support. Policies that would control conditions of sale or information about the product were the most strongly supported. Taxation as an incentive to food producers to provide alternatives to high-fat food or as a disincentive to consumers to purchase these foods was moderately supported. A proposal to limit sale of high-fat food to children was the most strongly opposed. The majority of respondents indicated that they felt the individual consumer, as opposed to the producer or retailer, is most responsible for problems associated with high-fat food use. The three communities which had received MHHP health promotion activities were significantly more supportive than the comparison communities on two of the eight proposals. There is a moderate level of support in the general public for additional policies to regulate the sale and consumption of high-fat foods. These policy level interventions, similar to policies common in the regulation of alcohol and tobacco use, may be a feasible strategy to help moderate use of potentially health-compromising food products.