The trustworthiness and credibility of risk information about licit substances : Attitudes among Swedish adults

• Aims: Providing risk information regarding licit substances is a central strategy in public health promotion. The aim of this paper is to explore the extent to which a random sample of Swedes: 1) trust risk information regarding alcohol, cigarettes and wet snuff (“snus”) provided by public authorities, 2) perceive risk information regarding alcohol, cigarettes and snus as contradictory, and 3) have received an adequate amount of risk information from public authorities regarding these licit substances. Methods: A questionnaire was mailed to Swedish adults aged 18 to 70 (n=1623, 54% response rate). Descriptive statistics and logistic regression techniques were used to process data. Results: Participants trusted risk information concerning cigarettes, snus and alcohol provided by public authorities, and reported that they had received an adequate amount of information. Information about cigarettes was seen as more trustworthy and consistent than information about alcohol and snus. Conclusion: The study suggests that attitudes toward risk information are substance-specific and associated with gender, age, education and experience of own substance use. While highlighting complexities in how people perceive risk information, our data also illustrate that the general population in Sweden seems to be quite well equipped when it comes to risk information about licit substances.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi -- Socialt arbete (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology -- Social Work (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

risk information

survey

attitudes

cigarettes

alcohol

snus

perceptions

socialt arbete med inriktning på vårdforskning

Social Work

Publikations- och innehållstyp

vet (ämneskategori)

kon (ämneskategori)