Americans Favor Stricter Vaping Laws, Mixed on Tobacco
Amidst the Juul flavors ban, Gallup surveyed to ascertain the view of Americans on the FDA’s proposal for the ban of menthol cigarettes.Give Us Stricter E-cigarette Laws, don’t ban Menthol Cigarettes
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Latest Survey on Vape Regulations
Gallup’s latest survey has some new insight into the view of Americans about vape regulations and Tobacco. According to the study:
- Six out of every ten Americans want stricter regulations guiding electronic cigarettes. Interestingly, these views are bipartisan.
- Over half of the Republicans, independents and Democrats want the laws on e-cigarettes to be sterner.
The survey by Gallup was held from July 5 to July 28. It was after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) voted for the Juul Ban. It will be recalled that the voting process took place in June, a month before the survey.
Today, FDA issued marketing denial orders (MDOs) to JUUL Labs Inc. for all of their products currently marketed in the United States. As a result, the company must stop selling and distributing these products. https://t.co/wB1NlMaoep pic.twitter.com/h7JVMdl6XB
— U.S. FDA (@US_FDA) June 23, 2022
Americans’ Views on Regulating Electronic Cigarettes
Gallup’s annual consumption survey has gathered Americans’ views on regulating electronic cigarettes. These views have varied responses from men, women, and various age groups.
- According to the survey, 61% of U.S. adults think that there need to be stricter e-cigarette laws. 30% feel that the rules are okay. Simultaneously, 7% expect that the e-cigarette laws should be relaxed.
- According to party identities, 69% of democrats want stricter laws. On the other hand, 28% want the laws to remain as they are. However, a meager 2% want less stringent rules.
- In the camp of the Independents, 60% opted for stricter laws. On the flip side, 30% love the current e-cigarette laws. Notwithstanding, 9% want less strict e-cigarette laws.
- The Republicans were part of the poll as well. 53% of Republicans voted for more strict e-cigarette laws. 10% want the rules to be less rigid. However, 32% want the laws the way they are.
This Year’s Statistics Of Cigarette Smokers Is Lowest In The Last Decade
Gallup reports that there has been a reduction in the number of Americans that smoke cigarettes in the last decade. According to them, this could be a result of the launch of e-cigarettes. In the past 4 years, statistics have shown that 8% of Americans use Vape pens.
Gallup’s recent survey shows that only 11% of Americans smoked cigarettes the week preceding the survey. This is much lower than the initial 20% recorded over the last decade.
11% of Americans report they have smoked cigarettes in the past week, the lowest level Gallup has ever recorded. https://t.co/AQJiicLUv8
— GallupNews (@GallupNews) August 12, 2022
Post-Jule Ban
Sometime in June, the FDA voted on the ban of Juul.
Juul is a famous brand of e-cigarettes. The brand was accused of marketing its products to children. They bought ad spaces on Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Seventeen magazine, which FDA feels is unfit. However, the decision is now under appeal.
Amidst all that, the number of Americans supporting stricter e-cigarette laws is higher than last year. 61% of Americans support the motion for stricter laws on e-cigarettes. This is higher than the 54% who held the view last year. However, it is slightly lower than the 64% who had the same opinion in 2019. Conversely, only 7% of Americans feel that the laws should be less strict.
Public Supports Lowering Nicotine In Cigarettes But Not A Menthol Ban.
The poll by Gallup covered three vaping regulations under consideration in Washington D.C. These regulations were designed to reduce tobacco smoking amongst Americans. While the responses are varied, partisan agreement was found on only one of the regulations.
The first regulation requires tobacco companies to reduce the nicotine levels in vape pens. Companies’ compliance with this law is expected to make cigarettes less addictive. According to the poll, roughly three-quarters of U.S. adults support this move. Amazingly, the supporters include a majority of Republicans. The majority of independents and Democrats are not left out either.
The poll also got Americans’ views on Congress’ proposal for doubling the federal cigarette tax. Applying this policy will mean that the federal cigarette tax will move from $1.01 to $2.02 per pack. 55% of adults favor this policy, most of whom are Democrats and independents. However, only 43% of Republicans buy the idea.
Unlike the other two policies, the third policy doesn’t have the backing of many Americans. The FDA proposed a ban on menthol cigarettes. According to them, menthol tends to increase the appeal of cigarettes to youths. However, only 42% of Americans are in favor of this policy.
Conclusion
Over the past decade, there has been a decline in the number of Americans that smoke cigarettes. Simultaneously, there has been an increase in how many Americans use vapes. However, the two actions are independent of each other. At least credible research links both.
Gallup’s survey was done via a randomized national telephone survey. The survey was conducted on 1013 adults. Hence, giving a plus or minus 4 percentage margin of error for both smokers and non-smokers. This provides the result with a 95% assurance.
