Conservatives Show Greater Favorability Toward Addictive Products, Study Finds

Ten studies across the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand show that individuals identifying as conservative report stronger purchase intentions and greater consumption of addictive products—including alcohol, tobacco, gambling, fast food, gaming, and illicit drugs—than liberal counterparts. The authors link this pattern to a heightened sense of personal control.

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The study used a YouGov poll of 454,737 UK adults, 124,976 Yelp reviews linked to U.S. county voting data, and lab experiments with about 2,500 participants. Results consistently showed conservatives rating addictive businesses more positively and expressing stronger purchase intentions.

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Survey data indicated conservatism predicts higher gambling severity, mediated by a stronger sense of agency. Inducing agency in liberal participants raised their smoking and vaping attitudes to levels comparable with conservatives, confirming agency as the causal mechanism.

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The researchers stress that ideology can shape consumer responses to products that bypass self-regulation. They caution that the patterns reflect group averages, not universal behavior, and that an emphasis on personal responsibility may unintentionally lower psychological defenses against addictive products. They also note that personally directed threat messages can reduce favorable attitudes among conservatives.

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The authors note that mindset manipulations may produce temporary belief activation, limiting conclusions about long-term behavior. The study also lacks longitudinal consumption data and does not examine non-addictive but hazardous items, leaving gaps in public-health understanding.

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• “Addictive products, such as gambling, alcohol, tobacco, gaming, fast food, and illicit drugs, create serious public health and social harms.” — Jasmina Ilicic, Professor of Marketing, Monash University

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• “Prior research often suggests that conservatives are more sensitive to risk and threat, so one might expect them to view addictive products more negatively.” — Stacey Brennan, Professor of Marketing, University of Sydney

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• “Across ten studies, we found that conservatives, compared with liberals, tended to have more favorable attitudes, intentions, and behaviors toward addictive products. This happened because conservatives reported a stronger sense of personal control over their actions, which made these products seem less dangerous.” — Jasmina Ilicic & Stacey Brennan

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• “When messages are personally directed, conservatives perceive addictive products as more dangerous and respond less favorably to them. This suggests that public health campaigns may be more effective when they consider how different audiences think about control, responsibility, and danger.” — Stacey Brennan

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