When looking more closely at the dietary supplement question three specific subgroups stand out as particularly interesting to talk about.

The user story. Regular users come from all demographic groups in the country including lower income and less educated Americans (see Table 4), there is no particular socio-demographic group that is largely over-represented in regular users (see Table 5). What users have in common is a belief in the effectiveness of the products they use. Regular users differ significantly from non-users in their attention to news stories about and self-described familiarity with supplements; they are more likely to think supplements are safe and effective, tested adequately, and make valid ad claims (see Table 1).

On the other hand, regular users are not significantly different in their attitudes about government regulation, and they are equally as likely as non-users to know that government doesn't currently regulate supplements.

The age story. Users are not predominantly young, perhaps because young people are healthier than older adults. Young adults differ very little from their elders in knowledge of and attitudes about dietary supplements.

However, compared with adults age 30+, young adults have more self-described familiarity with supplements, yet they are less likely to know that supplements are not regulated (Table 2).

The education story. Not surprisingly, college graduates are more knowledgeable about dietary supplements than those who are high school grads or less. College grads are also more likely to favor government regulation of purity and dosage.

But college grads do not differ in their level of usage or their attitudes about the health benefits of supplements (see Table 3).

Table 2: KNOWLEDGE OF AND ATTITUDES ABOUT DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS by frequency of age

Table 3: KNOWLEDGE OF AND ATTITUDES ABOUT DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS by frequency of education

Table 4: DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF REGULAR USERS OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS (Percent of Regular Users Who are YY)

Table 5: REGULAR USERS OF DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS (Percent of Each Specific Group Who is A Regular User)

Table 6: Percent of Each Specific Group WHO BELIEVE DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS ARE GOOD FOR PEOPLE'S HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

Table 7: PERCENT OF EACH SPECIFIC GROUP WHO BELIEVE DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS CAN HELP PEOPLE WITH AT LEAST 4 OF 6 ILLNESSES

Source: NPR/Kaiser Family Foundation/Kennedy School of Government Survey of Americans on Dietary Supplements, February 1999