Poll: Half of U.S. voters peeved with FDA, efforts to regulate reduced-harm nicotine products

A majority of likely General Election voters have lost faith in the Food and Drug Administration, indicating in a recent poll that they believe the agency is failing to help Americans be healthy and live longer. About half of respondents think the agency should return to the drawing board to achieve its health goals better. 

The bipartisan survey, conducted by RG Strategies and Peak Insights for Philip Morris International, found that 50% of voters were dissatisfied with the FDA’s progress over the last three years in improving the nation’s overall health and that nearly three-quarters of respondents (74%) believe the agency needs a significant overhaul.

Survey respondents specifically weighed in on the FDA’s work regulating smoke-free and other nicotine-containing products meant to help curb cigarette consumption, with 45% indicating dissatisfaction with the FDA’s efforts thus far. 

Similarly, 68% of respondents said they believe point-of-sale restrictions and higher product taxes are not substantially reducing the number of smokers and would fare better under a regulatory framework that went beyond such measures.

A whole 54% of survey respondents said they believe smoking rates would go down faster if the FDA encouraged smokers to utilize less-harmful alternatives to cigarettes, such as e-cigarettes. 

PMI, which commissioned the survey, has invested $12.5 billion globally since 2008 to develop and commercialize smoke-free products for adults as an alternative to smoking cigarettes. The company is frustrated with the FDA over what it perceives as the FDA’s inability to sufficiently review and approve new product applications in a timely manner.

PMI has an entire line of e-vaporizer products, including its VEEV line and heated tobacco, the IQOS line. PMI also markets its Zyn oral smokeless products, all of which are advertised as less harmful than traditional cigarettes. 

Under federal law, the Center for Tobacco Products is required to review new premarket tobacco product applications for smoke-free alternatives such as nicotine pouches and e-cigarettes within 180 days after receiving them. However, PMI argues that the agency has taken as long as three years, in some cases, to decide on such product applications.

The delay, PMI alleges, leads to unregulated products from foreign manufacturers flooding retailers’ shelves. 

PMI announced last month that it was investing $232 million to expand its Kentucky factory, which makes nicotine pouches, an oral alternative to smoking. According to The Associated Press, the investment is part of the company’s broader goal of creating a “smoke-free future. “ 

PMI’s survey additionally showed voting implications surrounding the vape issue, with 52% of respondents 21 or older who occasionally use smoke-free tobacco products saying they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who supported policies that restricted access to cigarette alternatives such as vapes or oral pouches. 

Among voters who support former President Donald Trump, 56% say they would not vote for a candidate who supports restricting smoke-free alternatives. Not as many Democrats share that sentiment, but still, 37% say they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who supports banning smoke-free alternatives to cigarettes.

Moreover, 66% of swing state voters said increasing taxes and adding restrictions is not enough to reduce cigarette smoking, and 55% of respondents said they’d be less likely to vote for candidates who supported such policies. 

Nearly seven in 10 respondents (68%) said cigarette smokers must have access to a variety of less risky alternatives, with 61% believing cigarette alternatives should be taxed at a lower rate than cigarettes to encourage the switch. 

The PMI survey was conducted in mid-June among 2,000 likely voters aged 21 and older in every region of the United States. The survey was conducted in English and Spanish via an online panel and text-to-web from voter files.

Thirty-three percent of respondents identified themselves as Democrats, 28% as Republicans, and 36% had no party affiliation. The survey’s margin of error is +/—2.2%. 

The survey comes as a Gallup survey released last month found record low cigarette smoking rates in the U.S. And lawmakers in Florida have indicated they have no interest in waiting around for the feds to act, passing a bill this Session that empowers the state Attorney General to target unlawful products available in stores. Lawmakers are expected to take up rule-making on the issue this fall.