A new Gallup poll has revealed that Americans believe that marijuana is far less harmful than most tobacco products. Results of the new survey were published by the research company on Wednesday.
Almost all of the respondents—96 percent—believed that cigarettes are harmful. Of those, 82 percent said that cigarettes are “very harmful.” Fourteen percent said that cigarettes are “somewhat harmful.”
In contrast, 63 percent of those surveyed believe that marijuana is harmful. Twenty-seven percent believe marijuana is “very harmful,” while 29 percent believe it is “somewhat harmful.” Twenty-four percent believe marijuana is “not too harmful.” Another 18 percent said that they thought marijuana was “not at all” harmful.
Of those polled, 5 percent said they used marijuana on a regular basis. Another 8 percent said that they use pot occasionally.
Tobacco Products Fare Poorly
Those taking the poll were also asked for their perception of the harmfulness of four additional tobacco products. A majority of respondents said that cigars, chewing tobacco, and pipe tobacco were all “very harmful.”
Chewing tobacco, at 71 percent was viewed as the most harmful after cigarettes. Cigars followed at 56 percent while 52 percent believe smoking a pipe is “very harmful.” Vaping e-cigarettes was viewed as relatively safer, with 38 percent saying they are “very harmful.”
Cigarette Smoking Down
The survey also asked about respondents’ usage of tobacco products. Sixteen percent said that they had smoked a cigarette in the past week. That number is about one-third the figure recorded in the 1950s and about half the rate of the 1980s.
Young adults aged 18-29 showed the greatest drop in the rate of cigarette smokers. Since 2001, the rate of cigarette smoking by this age group has fallen by more than half. Over the past three years,