Poll Watch: Rasmussen (R) National Survey on Banning Sugary Drinks

Rasmussen (R) National Survey on Banning Sugary Drinks

Do you favor or oppose a law that would ban the sale of any cup or bottle of sweetened drink larger than 16 ounces?

• Favor 24%
• Oppose 65%

Should the government ban the sale of all sugary drinks?

• Yes 11%
• No 85%

Does the government have the constitutional authority to prevent people from buying sugary drinks?

• Yes 9%
• No 85%

National survey of 1,000 adults was conducted May 31 - June 1, 2012. The margin of error is +/- 3 percentage points.

Inside the numbers:

Eighty percent (80%) of Republicans and 71% of those who are not affiliated with either of the major political parties oppose a ban on super-size drinks. Democrats are fairly evenly divided.

Women are more supportive than men of the ban on sugary drinks larger than 16 ounces, but the two overwhelmingly agree that the government does not have the constitutional authority to prevent people from buying the drinks.

Despite concerns Americans have about childhood obesity, adults with children living with them oppose a ban on super-size drinks even more than those who don’t have children in the home.

Americans under 40 look more favorably on a ban on all sugary drinks than older adults do. Government employees like that idea more than those who work for a private company.

But a sizable number of Americans across all demographic categories oppose such a ban and think the government lacks the authority to impose it.