ORLANDO, Fla. – A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found a majority of Americans surveyed support policies that would ban the sale of all tobacco products.
The report, released Thursday by the CDC, surveyed 6,455 people across the country via a web panel.
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It found 57.3% of Americans supported the ban on all tobacco products, while 42.7% opposed.
Support for a ban cut across all age groups, ethnicities, education levels, genders, incomes and geographic regions.
Support was lower among men compared to women (52.2% vs. 62.2%), white people compared to other ethnicities, (54.4% vs. 60.5% of Hispanics and 63.4% of Blacks), those making less than $25,000 a year (54.3%) and among those living in the South compared to the rest of the country (54.1% vs. 57.9% in the Midwest, 59.3% in the West and 61.1% in the Northeast).
The survey’s results represent a marked shift in public opinion.
In 2018, a Gallup poll showed just 25% of U.S. adults supported an outright smoking ban. Gallup found at the time that support had jumped in the last decade. That survey included 1,033 American adults.
The CDC survey also found a majority of Americans also supported a ban on the sale of menthol cigarettes — 62.3%. The Food and Drug Administration is currently considering a rule that would ban menthol cigarettes, which are often marketed to young people and among some ethnic groups.
Several states have also tried to ban flavored tobacco, including menthol. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to stop California’s ban on flavored tobacco products last year.
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