International Journal of Drug Policy 26 (2015) 371–379 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Drug Policy j ourna l h om epage: www.elsevier.com/locate/drugpo Research paper Public support for alcohol policies associated with knowledge of cancer risk Penny Buykx a,e,* , Conor Gilligan b , Bernadette Ward a , Rebecca Kippen a,c , Kathy Chapman d a Monash University, School of Rural Health, Bendigo, Australia b University of Newcastle, School of Medicine and Public Health, Newcastle, Australia c University of Melbourne, Centre for Health and Society, Australia d Cancer Council of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia e University of Sheffield School of Health and Related Research, UK a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 30 May 2014 Received in revised form 8 August 2014 Accepted 12 August 2014 Keywords: Alcohol Policy Cancer Public opinion a b s t r a c t Background: Several options are advocated by policy experts to mitigate alcohol-related harms, although the most effective strategies often have the least public support. While knowledge of tobacco-related health risks predicts support for relevant public health measures, it is not known whether knowledge of alcohol health risks is similarly associated with the acceptability of policies intended to reduce alcohol consumption and related harms. This study aims to gauge public support for a range of alcohol policies and to determine whether or not support is associated with knowledge of a long-term health risk of alcohol consumption, specifically cancer. Methods: 2482 adults in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, participated in an online survey. Logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association between demographic data, alcohol consump- tion, smoking status, knowledge of alcohol as a risk factor for cancer and support for alcohol-related policies. Results: Most participants were supportive of health warnings, restricting access to internet alcohol adver- tising to young people, and requiring information on national drinking guidelines on alcohol containers. Almost half of participants supported a ban on sport sponsorship, while less than 41% supported price increases, volumetric taxation, or reducing the number of retail outlets. Only 47% of participants identi- fied drinking too much alcohol as a risk factor for cancer. Knowledge of alcohol as a risk factor for cancer was a significant predictor of support for all policies, while level of alcohol consumption had a significant inverse relationship with policy support. Conclusion: The finding that support for alcohol management policies is associated with awareness that drinking too much alcohol may contribute to cancer could assist in the planning of future public health interventions. Improving awareness of the long term health risks of alcohol consumption may be one avenue to increasing public support for effective alcohol harm-reduction policies. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Introduction International evidence clearly identifies the substantial avoid- able contribution made by heavy alcohol consumption in both the short and long term to death and injury rates (Stockwell & Chikritzhs, 2007). It is also increasingly apparent that consumption * Corresponding author at: University of Sheffield School of Health and Related Research, Regent Court, 30 Regent Street Sheffield, S1 4DA, UK. Tel.: +44 114 222 5202. E-mail address: p.f.buykx@sheffield.ac.uk (P. Buykx). of alcohol adversely affects the health of many people who could be characterised as merely ‘social drinkers’ (Australian Government Preventative Health Taskforce, 2009; Rehm, 2011). Beyond its extensive health impact, the social harm associated with heavy drinking and the economic costs of dealing with it are now being taken into account by policymakers (Rehm et al., 2009), exem- plified by the World Health Organization’s adoption in 2010 of a ‘Global strategy to reduce the harmful use of alcohol’ (World Health Organization, 2010). Governments play an important role in mitigating the harms associated with alcohol. However, public health policy making in this area is influenced by many stakeholders, including the alcohol http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2014.08.006 0955-3959/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.