- Nearly three-quarters of adults support the public health
strategy of tobacco harm reduction
- Two-thirds of adults think the FDA, which regulates all tobacco
and nicotine products, should focus on harm reduction, instead of
prohibition; 78 percent of policy professionals agree with this
approach
According to a survey released today by Altria Group, Inc.
(NYSE: MO), two-out-of-three Americans support tobacco harm
reduction, an established public health strategy that supports
transitioning adult smokers who can’t or won’t stop smoking to less
risky tobacco products, over blanket prohibition as the better
policy approach to tobacco regulation. The survey also shows that
82 percent think it is important for the FDA to focus on making
smoke-free tobacco products available to adult smokers to help them
switch from cigarettes.
“There is clear, overwhelming support for the FDA embracing harm
reduction for the 30 million American adults who smoke. That means
providing adult smokers who are unable or unwilling to quit with
wider access to smoke-free alternatives and providing them the
information and support to help them switch,” said Paige Magness,
Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Altria Client Services.
“Pursuing harm reduction is one of the most powerful steps the FDA
can take to deliver on its mission to reduce tobacco-related death
and disease in the U.S. It is our hope that the FDA will listen to
these voices as it sets out its policy agenda for the coming
years.”
The surveys also show that 90 percent agree that the FDA has a
responsibility to accurately inform adult tobacco consumers about
the risks associated with different tobacco products and 88 percent
agree that the FDA has a responsibility to address the widespread
misperception that nicotine causes cancer.
Most adults also agree that policies which ban tobacco products
will lead to illicit markets for tobacco products – endangering
public health, youth and communities of color.
- 84 percent believe youth will have easy access to tobacco
products in an illicit market
- 84 percent believe bootleg tobacco products sold in an illicit
market are more dangerous for consumers than regulated
products
- 66 percent are concerned that an illicit market for tobacco
products will lead to an increased burden on law enforcement
- 65 percent are concerned that an illicit market for tobacco
products will result in an increase in policing in communities of
color
“Most Americans understand that prohibition-based policies don’t
work and that it’s much better for public health to keep tobacco
products legal and regulated,” said Magness. “Harm reduction is the
better path forward. With harm reduction, regulators provide adult
smokers with information, choice and support to expand the off-ramp
from smoking – while also continuing to drive down underage
use.”
Underage smoking rates are at historically low levels (1.6
percent) according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention’s most recent National Youth Tobacco Survey data1. Youth
vaping rates have declined from a peak of 20 percent in 2019 to 9.4
percent in 2022 according to the same survey. This signals that
current regulations, like raising the legal age of purchase for all
tobacco products to 21, are working to reduce underage use of
tobacco products. Considering this, 66 percent of adults believe
that preventing youth usage of tobacco products should be
addressed, but without banning or prohibiting tobacco products that
are already legal for adult tobacco consumers.
The survey results also underscore the clear expectations that
adults have for physicians to help adult smokers who want to
switch. Seventy nine percent agree that if certain tobacco products
have been scientifically shown to be less risky than cigarettes,
physicians have a responsibility to communicate this information to
their patients who are adult tobacco consumers and have not
successfully quit smoking by using traditional cessation
therapies.
In addition to general population adults, the survey asked
primary care physicians about their views on tobacco harm
reduction. Of those surveyed, 89 percent support tobacco harm
reduction as a public health concept and 85 percent believe it is
important for the FDA to focus on making smoke-free tobacco
products available to adult smokers to help them switch from
cigarettes to less harmful alternatives.
Policy professionals were also surveyed and overwhelmingly
believe that harm reduction is a better approach for the FDA to
focus on than prohibition (78 percent), that tobacco products
should remain legal so they can be properly regulated (77 percent)
and that the FDA has a responsibility to accurately inform adult
tobacco consumers about the different levels of risk associated
with tobacco products (96 percent).
Survey Methodology
General Population
The findings are drawn from a nationwide online survey fielded
November 22 - December 2, 2022 by Metrics & Insights LLC for
Altria Client Services LLC among n=1,501 U.S. adults age 21 and
older. The interview length averaged 17 minutes. The
margin-of-error is +/-2.5 percent at the 95 percent confidence
interval. Survey results are weighted to represent the entire 21
and older population of the U.S. using census population survey
demographic data (age, gender, region, race). The primary purpose
of this survey was to obtain current measures of societal
perceptions, attitudes and opinions on tobacco harm reduction on
smoke-free tobacco products.
Primary Care Physicians
The findings are drawn from a nationwide online survey fielded
November 29 - December 12, 2022 by Metrics & Insights LLC for
Altria Client Services LLC among 261 primary care physicians. The
interview length averaged 16 minutes. Survey results for the
primary care physician sample are weighted to represent the primary
care physician population of the U.S. by gender and race using AMA
Physician Masterfile, Dec. 31, 2018. The margin-of-error is +/- 6.1
percent at the 95 percent confidence level. The primary purpose of
this survey was to obtain current measures of societal perceptions,
attitudes and opinions on tobacco harm reduction on smoke-free
tobacco products.
Policy Professionals
The findings are drawn from nationwide online survey fielded
November 29 - December 9, 2022 by Metrics & Insights LLC for
Altria Client Services LLC among 151 policy professionals. The
interview length averaged 23 minutes. The margin of error for this
sample is +/- 8.0 percent at the 95 percent confidence level. The
primary purpose of this survey was to obtain current measures of
societal perceptions, attitudes and opinions on tobacco harm
reduction on smoke-free tobacco products.
The complete surveys can be found on www.altria.com.
Altria’s Profile
We have a leading portfolio of tobacco products for U.S. tobacco
consumers age 21+. Our Vision by 2030 is to responsibly lead the
transition of adult smokers to a smoke-free future (Vision). We are
Moving Beyond Smoking™, leading the way in moving adult smokers
away from cigarettes by taking action to transition millions to
potentially less harmful choices - believing it is a substantial
opportunity for adult tobacco consumers, our businesses and
society.
Our wholly owned subsidiaries include leading manufacturers of
both combustible and smoke-free products. In combustibles, we own
Philip Morris USA Inc. (PM USA), the most profitable U.S. cigarette
manufacturer, and John Middleton Co. (Middleton), a leading U.S.
cigar manufacturer. Our smoke-free portfolio includes ownership of
U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company LLC (USSTC), the leading global
moist smokeless tobacco (MST) manufacturer, and Helix Innovations
LLC (Helix), a leading manufacturer of oral nicotine pouches.
Additionally, we have a majority-owned joint venture, Horizon
Innovations LLC (Horizon), for the U.S. marketing and
commercialization of heated tobacco stick products and, through a
separate agreement, we have the exclusive U.S. commercialization
rights to the IQOS Tobacco Heating System® and Marlboro HeatSticks®
through April 2024.
Our equity investments include Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (ABI),
the world’s largest brewer and Cronos Group Inc. (Cronos), a
leading Canadian cannabinoid company.
The brand portfolios of our tobacco operating companies include
Marlboro®, Black & Mild®, Copenhagen®, Skoal® and on!®.
Trademarks and service marks related to Altria referenced in this
release are the property of Altria or its subsidiaries or are used
with permission.
Learn more about Altria at www.altria.com and follow us on Twitter, Facebook
and LinkedIn.
12022 NYTS past 30-day cigarette smoking among middle and high
school students combined. Source:
https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/pdfs/mm7145a1-h.pdf (Table
1).
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