Public acceptability of policy interventions to reduce sugary drink consumption in urban Vietnam

Abstract

This study aims to assess the public acceptability of interventions to reduce sugary drinks in Vietnam, identify the key determinants, and develop a classification of consumers. A cross-sectional survey with 263 urban consumers evaluated perceptions of four potential interventions: restricting choice, taxation, nudging, and labeling. Thereby, specific attention was devoted to perceived intrusiveness and (personal and societal) effectiveness, as well personal characteristics, including Confucius values. Results showed that “hard” interventions like taxation are less acceptable to consumers than “soft” measures such as labeling. Acceptability is generally affected by perceived intrusiveness and effectiveness (especially on other people in the society), while other factors (sugary drink behavior, trust in government’s competence, personal values, age, education) only matter for some of the interventions. Cluster analysis revealed three consumer segments, depicted as anti-taxation (28%), pro-intervention (20%) and pro-labeling (52%), which further underpins the heterogeneity of intervention acceptability.