­­Assessing the profile of support for potential tobacco control policies targeting availability in Great Britain: a cross-sectional population survey

Abstract

Context: To examine the level of support for tobacco availability policies across Great Britain (GB) and associations between support for policy and sociodemographic, smoking and quitting characteristics. Methods: Cross-sectional data came from a representative survey of adults in GB (n = 2,197) during September 2021. Weighted proportions indicated the level of support for each policy. Logistic regressions estimated the associations between support for each policy and sociodemographic and smoking characteristics. Findings: There was majority support for requiring retailers to have a license which can be removed if they sell to those under-age (89.6% (95%CI 88.3–90.9)) and for restrictions on the sale of cigarettes and tobacco near schools (69.9% (67.9–71.9)). More supported than opposed raising the legal age of sale of cigarettes and tobacco to 21 (49.2% supported; 30.7% opposed; 20.1% unsure) and reducing the number of retailers selling tobacco in neighbourhoods with a high density of tobacco retailers (46.5% supported; 23.3% opposed; 30.2% unsure). More opposed than supported a ban on the sale of cigarettes and tobacco to everyone born after a certain year from 2030 onwards (41.3% opposed; 34.5% supported; 24.2% unsure). Age was positively associated with support for raising the age of sale (OR 1.06 95%CI 1.01–1.12), and inversely associated with requiring tobacco retailer licenses (OR 0.86, 0.79–0.94).Women were more likely to support raising the age of sale (OR 1.25, 1.05–1.49) and reducing the number of retailers (OR 1.34, 1.12–1.60). Current smokers were less likely to support proposed availability policies than never smokers. Smokers with high motivation to stop had higher odds of supporting a ban on tobacco sales (OR 3.45, 1.68–7.14) and reducing the density of retailers (OR 2.60, 1.29–5.27). Conclusions: Requiring tobacco retailer licensing and restrictions on sales near schools received majority support. Other tobacco availability policies received substantial support despite considerable opposition. Many of the public remain unsure. Policy Points • Strong majority support for tobacco retailer licensing and restrictions on sales near schools suggests that implementation of these tobacco availability policies would be popular among adults in Great Britain. • There was greater support than opposition to raising the legal age of sale of tobacco to 21 and reducing the number of retailers in high density tobacco retailer neighbourhoods. • Opposition to a ban on tobacco sales has weakened compared with a previous survey in England, and many of the public remain unsure; informed debate will be critical in determining public attitudes towards this tobacco availability policy.