Consumer support for restrictive policies on unhealthy food and beverage delivery via drones.

Objective: Drone delivery services are set to increase unhealthy food and alcohol accessibility. The aim of this study was to evaluate public receptiveness to various options for regulating drone food and beverage deliveries and to identify sociodemographic differences in receptiveness.

Methods: In total, 1079 adults were surveyed to assess total support and differences in support between population subgroups (e.g. age, sex, location, existing habits) for nine potential drone policies covering curfews, quotas, and product bans. Support was measured on five-point agreement scales, with mean individual policy support (M) and grand mean support calculated for all assessed policies (grand M).

Results: There was moderate support for all assessed policies (grand M=3.5), ranging from M=3.2 (drone delivery quotas for shopping centres and dwellings) to M=3.7 (night curfews, airspace quotas). Factors associated with policy support were older age, metropolitan residence and using grocery delivery services.

Conclusions: Public support exists for policies designed to restrict drone food and beverage deliveries.

Implications for public health: Drone food and beverage delivery policies will likely be supported by the public and could assist in controlling the accessibility of such products for the benefit of population dietary health.