Background
The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act granted the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) the authority to regulate tobacco products in the U.S. However, little is known
about how regulation may be related to judgments about tobacco product–related risks.
Purpose
To understand how FDA tobacco regulation beliefs are associated with judgments about
tobacco product–related risks.
Methods
The Health Information National Trends Survey is a national survey of the U.S. adult
population. Data used in this analysis were collected from October 2012 through January
2013 (N=3,630) by mailed questionnaire and analyzed in 2013. Weighted bivariate chi-square
analyses were used to assess associations among FDA regulation belief, tobacco harm
judgments, sociodemographics, and smoking status. A weighted multinomial logistic
regression was conducted where FDA regulation belief was regressed on tobacco product
judgments, controlling for sociodemographic variables and smoking status.
Results
About 41% believed that the FDA regulates tobacco products in the U.S., 23.6% reported
the FDA does not, and 35.3% did not know. Chi-square analyses showed that smoking
status was significantly related to harm judgments about electronic cigarettes (p<0.0001). The multinomial logistic regression revealed that uncertainty about FDA
regulation was associated with tobacco product harm judgment uncertainty.
Conclusions
Tobacco product harm perceptions are associated with beliefs about tobacco product
regulation by the FDA. These findings suggest the need for increased public awareness
and understanding of the role of tobacco product regulation in protecting public health.
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References
Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. 2009; Pub. L. 111-31. www.fda.gov/TobaccoProducts/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/ucm237092.htm.
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Article Info
Publication History
Published online: February 24, 2015
Identification
Copyright
© 2015 Published by Elsevier Inc.
