Gallup Poll: Cannabis is Less Harmful than Alcohol, Tobacco, and Vape Products

Americans view cannabis as the least harmful legal drug, according to a recent Gallup poll in which 66% of respondents said it is “very” (26%) or “somewhat” (40%) harmful. Another 22% said cannabis is “not too” harmful, with 10% believing cannabis is “not at all” harmful. 

Among those polled, cigarettes were seen as the most harmful, with 79% of respondents saying they are very harmful and 18% saying they are somewhat harmful. Another 61% said chewing tobacco is very harmful, along with 31% viewing chewing tobacco as somewhat harmful. 

E-cigarettes and vaping were viewed as very harmful by 57% of respondents, with another 34% saying it was somewhat harmful, and 4% saying it is not too harmful. Forty-five percent of respondents said they viewed cigar smoking as very harmful, with 39% viewing the practice as somewhat harmful, while 9% said it is not too harmful and 4% viewed it as not at all harmful. 

Pipe-smoking was viewed as very harmful by 44% of those surveyed, while 40% said it is somewhat harmful, and 7% said it is not too harmful. Another 34% of those polled by Gallup viewed nicotine pouches as very harmful, while 38% viewed the products as somewhat harmful, 10% said the products are not too harmful, with 7% viewing them as not at all harmful. 

A third of those surveyed viewed alcohol as very harmful, with 53% saying it is somewhat harmful, and 8% viewing alcohol as not too harmful.  

The poll also found an increase among Americans who said cannabis negatively impacts society as a whole, with 54% holding that view in the most recent survey compared to 50% in 2022, when 49% of respondents viewed cannabis’ societal impact as positive – a figure that fell to 41% in the poll released on Tuesday.