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ANHEUSER-BUSCH PUBLIC OPINION STUDY
Conducted for Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc.
Telephone Interviewing (June 9 - 17, 2003)
Summary Memorandum
A recent telephone survey was conducted for Anheuser-Busch to gauge public attitudes toward
different suggestions that have been publicly made regarding beer, wine, and liquor.
Telephone interviews were conducted with a representative sample of 1,000 Americans ages 21
and older. Interviewing was conducted June 9 - 17, 2003 utilizing Random Digit Dialing
procedures. The results are projectable to the total Continental U.S. population aged 21 and
older. The margin of error due to sampling is plus/minus 3 percentage points.
Overall Findings
About half of all Americans (44%) seem to be really involved in current events and stories in
the news today, saying they pay “a great deal of attention” to these things. Nearly as many
(39%), however, say they tend to pay only “some attention” to current events and news
stories, and 17% admit they pay only “a little attention.”
Americans’ views of drinking, and their views of the most effective ways to address two of
the major problems sometimes associated with drinking – drunk driving and underage
drinking – are complex.
However, when faced with a tough choice to synopsize their views on addressing these
issues, Americans don’t seem to equivocate. 84% of Americans say they favor “better
education about alcohol and stricter punishment of offenders,” over “raising taxes on, and
limiting advertising of alcohol beverages” (14%). Only 2% were unable to make one of these
choices.
When Americans were asked about their views on 18 different approaches to alcohol issues
there seems to be only limited support for radical changes in the way America currently deals
with alcohol. However, Americans are overwhelming in their support of current
preventive and education efforts, as well as their desire for better enforcement of existing
laws regarding alcohol.
As stated, Americans’ views about alcohol are complex. The overwhelming majority of the
public opposes the idea of a return to prohibition (83%); 17% of the public actually favor the
return of alcohol sales being illegal. A third of Americans (36%) feel that all advertising of
beer, wine, and liquor should be banned (while nearly twice as many – 64% – oppose this
move). Almost identical numbers believe convenience stores should not be allowed to sell
beer, wine, or liquor (37%); 63% oppose this idea. There is less support for the same
restriction on alcohol sales in supermarkets (where 30% favor the idea and 70% oppose the
idea).
Practically all Americans favor the approaches currently being used to reduce underage
drinking and drunk driving: programs for checking ID in places that sell alcohol (favored by
97%), and designated driver programs (favored by 95%). 92% of the public also feel that
there should be wide availability of public education materials on preventing drunk driving
and underage drinking.
Interestingly, many other strongly supported approaches to underage drinking mostly involve
education – both at home and through the school systems in the country. 94% of Americans
favor “giving parents materials to help them talk to their kids about underage drinking.” 92%
support alcohol education programs in schools, and 90% want “alcohol education speakers
and materials for high school and college presentations” to be available. 82% also feel that
there should be college programs or classes on responsible drinking.
However, the public also believes there is a need to move beyond education for young
people. 92% want people who serve drinks trained to serve responsibly and spot fake IDs,
and 84% want better enforcement of “zero tolerance laws” – meaning that any underage
person caught drinking and driving automatically loses his/her license to drive.
When it comes to drunk driving, there is a call for tougher laws on repeat drunk driving
offenders (favored by 93%), and equal support for better enforcement of existing drunk
driving laws (favored by 89%). There is slightly lower support -- but still favored by a huge
majority -- for “stricter punishment for drunk drivers with higher blood alcohol content
levels” (82%)
Nine in 10 (89%) believe that there should be advertising encouraging people, when they
drink, to drink responsibly and the same number favor programs currently in place that
provide alternative transportation for those who have had too much to drink – for example,
free cab rides.