We carried out the first systematic review of the literature on public attitudes to government interventions, including those aimed at reducing tobacco use. The review included 200 studies.
People regarded interventions that targeted smoking as the most acceptable.
This may be due to:
- the majority of people in high income countries no longer smoking (and people preferring interventions that affect others and not themselves);
- public awareness of the harms of smoking; and/or
- recent tobacco control interventions (as public attitudes may change in response to legislation).
Public acceptability of government intervention to change health-related behaviours: a systematic review and narrative synthesis. Diepeveen, Ling, Suhrcke, Roland & Marteau. 2013.
