Poll: Floridians want more freedom to choose cigarette alternatives

A new poll from a leading Florida business advocacy group is showing supermajority support for more legal alternatives to smoking cigarettes, such as vaping products.

The poll from the Associated Industries of Florida Center for Political Strategy found 63% of Floridians agree that “safer, next-generation products that give consumers as many less harmful options and choices as possible to help people quit smoking deadly cigarettes” should be available to adults. That includes 33% who strongly agree and 31% who somewhat agree.

Only 25% disagree, while 12% indicated they either don’t know or refused to answer.

The poll comes as stakeholders grapple with the continued slow-roll by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on regulations ensuring access to smoke-free and other nicotine-containing products aimed at helping individuals curb cigarette consumption — products such as oral pouches or vapes.

The poll, taken Aug. 6-8 among 800 Florida respondents, found the highest level of support among White women not affiliated with a political party, at 73% support.

Conservative voters were more likely to support smoking alternatives than liberals, with Republican respondents to the poll posting 67% support compared to just 56% support among Democrats. Similarly, respondents who identify as conservative support smoking alternatives at 66%, while moderates clocked in at 62% support and liberals at 58% support.

Middle-aged people are most likely to support regulating access to smoking alternatives, including 66% of those 56-65, followed by young voters under 35, of whom 65% support cigarette alternative regulations. Support drops to 64% among those 36-45, to 62% among those over 65 and to 61% among those 46-55.

Not a single demographic, including age, gender, race and political affiliation, saw support for smoking alternatives fall below a majority.

The lowest level of support — 53% — was found in two demographics: Democratic women and White Democrats.

The findings echo results from a recent poll by RG Strategies commissioned by Philip Morris International, which 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.

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, Philip Morris International, which has invested $12.5 billion globally since 2008 to develop and commercialize smoke-free products for adults, argues that the agency has taken as long as three years, in some cases, to decide on such product applications.

Both surveys come 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.