ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A new poll commissioned by the Center for
Alcohol Policy on public opinion toward alcohol regulation found
that Americans continue to overwhelmingly support states maintaining the authority
to regulate alcohol within their own borders. Notably, this support is remarkably strong
across political party lines despite the heightened political polarization of
today. 85 percent of Republicans, 81 percent of Democrats and 83 percent of
Independents express support for alcohol being regulated at the state level.
Key
findings from
the Center’s survey additionally show that American adults are in favor of a broad array of state-level alcohol
regulations and the three-tier system, which separates the manufacture,
distribution and sale of alcohol. In
particular, they are satisfied with the consumer choice fostered by the
American system of alcohol distribution.
Additional results
indicate that Americans want lawmakers to prioritize public health and safety
over convenience and price when weighing changes to alcohol regulations.
“Public support
for responsible state alcohol regulation has remained consistently high over
the last decade. Despite the many attacks within the industry on regulation and
the independent distribution system, the vast majority of Americans remain
supportive,” says Jim Hall, former
Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board and Center for Alcohol
Policy Advisor. “This steady support
cuts across all demographic groups, even the red/blue divide, on nearly all
these issues. Americans clearly agree public
health and safety are essential when considering changes to current law.”
Key findings
from the survey include:
Americans continue to support state
regulation of alcohol.
- 86
percent of respondents agree that alcohol is a product that needs to be
regulated.
- 82
percent agree that alcohol is different that other products, and therefore
should be regulated differently.
- Support
remains high for individual state regulation of alcohol (83 percent).
- A
wide majority
support requiring license holders to be a resident of their respective state
(77 percent).
- 76
percent agree that alcohol sold should come through a licensed system for
tracking.
- 87
percent of respondents displayed a high confidence in the safety of alcohol
products sold in their state.
Americans are satisfied with current
alcohol regulations in their state.
- 82 percent
of Americans continue to be satisfied with the existing system for alcohol in
their respective states.
- Nearly
9 out of 10 Americans are satisfied with the variety of alcohol products
available (87 percent).
The three-tier system is viewed very
positively.
- 75
percent of respondents show support for states regulating through a three-tier
system, which has been consistent over the past decade, and 3 out of 4 agree
that the system works well.
Americans want alcohol laws to
prioritize safety.
- Most
Americans reject that alcohol is just like other consumer products.
- Drunk
driving is seen as the most serious alcohol-related problem.
- Survey
respondents want lawmakers address drunk driving first. 78 percent agree reducing
drunk driving is a priority, followed by protecting health and public safety (70%)
and reducing underage drinking (64 percent).
- Given
the nation’s priorities, it is not surprising that 85 percent of Americans
support keeping the legal drinking age at 21 years old.
The survey was
conducted by New Bridge Strategy among 1,000 adults ages 21 and older
throughout the nation. The interviews were conducted online and distributed
proportionally throughout the U.S. and are demographically representative of
this age group. The confidence interval associated with this sample is +/-3.5%
at the 95% confidence level; with varying confidence for population subgroups
within the sample.
