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 The national online poll, released Tuesday, found that 63% of adults
in the United States disagreed with the statement that "vaping is
healthier than traditional cigarettes." That is up 16 percentage
points from a similar Reuters/Ipsos poll that ran in the spring of
2016. (Graphic: https://tmsnrt.rs/2m82D7I)
It also found that only 29% of adults think vaping is a good way to
help people quit smoking, and 77% said that vaping should be
regulated at least as strongly as traditional cigarettes.
The survey was conducted Sept. 17-18, shortly before U.S. health
officials lifted to 530 the number of confirmed and probable cases
of lung-related illnesses linked to vaping. The U.S. Food and Drug
Administration is investigating what has caused the outbreak that
has so far killed seven people.
Retail giant Walmart also said Friday that it would pull
e-cigarettes from its shelves due to health concerns and their
apparent popularity among teenagers.
"This is the natural consequence of a seemingly unending stream of
misleading news stories" about e-cigarettes, said Greg Conley,
president of the American Vaping Association, an advocacy group that
is partially funded by e-cigarette makers.
Conley added that many of the vaping-related health issues involved
people who used e-cigarettes to smoke street-bought drugs or liquids
that contain ingredients from cannabis, not tobacco.
Investigators at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have pointed to
vaping oils containing marijuana ingredient tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC) or vaping oils with vitamin E acetate, a substance used in
some THC products, as a possible cause of the illnesses. But they
have not ruled out anything yet, including conventional nicotine
liquids.
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E-cigarettes, which operate by heating a liquid that contains
nicotine, have been popular for nearly a decade in the United
States. While long-term health impacts from vaping remain largely
unknown, some users view e-cigarettes as a healthier alternative
that can help them quit smoking.
Earlier this month, the FDA issued a warning letter to Juul Labs Inc
for marketing its e-cigarettes as safer than traditional cigarettes.
Juul, which has said it is reviewing the FDA letter, also faces
about 30 lawsuits alleging it illegally marketed products to
children and failed to issue warnings to consumers about their
dangers.
Juul has denied that it marketed its products to children.
Younger adults were much more likely than older people to have used
vaping products, according to the poll. About half of all 18-34 year
olds said they either currently use a vaping device, or they have
used one in the past - about five times the rate of usage of adults
who were 55 or older.
The poll did not measure the interest in vaping among minors. While
it is illegal to sell nicotine delivery products to minors, the FDA
has said more than 3 million U.S. high school students used
e-cigarettes in 2018.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted online, in English, throughout
the United States. It gathered responses from 1,111 adults and has a
credibility interval, a measure of precision, of 3 percentage
points.
(Reporting by Chris Kahn; Editing by David Gregorio)
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