A new YouGov poll commissioned by the Association for the Cannabinoid Industry (The ACI) demonstrates what it describes as “overwhelming support” for recent Food Standards Agency guidance on CBD.
ACI summarised the guidance as:
- The FSA (Food Standards Agency) reviewed the evidence on CBD products and found evidence there are potential adverse health effects from consumption.
– They set a deadline of the 31st March 2021 for businesses that produce CBD based products to provide more information about CBD products and their contents.
– They advised vulnerable groups (e.g. pregnant women etc.) not to take CBD products, and healthy adults to take no more than 70mg a day.
After being presented with the summary the 2056 survey participants were asked how much they supported or opposed the FSA’s decision. 74% had a positive reaction (25% indicating ‘strongly support’, 39% indicating ‘tend to support’).
The poll also gave insight into CBD usage and awareness in the UK population. 71% of respondents were aware of CBD with 16% of them already purchased a CBD product.
However, when it came to consumer confidence in CBD products the results were less positive. Only 29% of respondents declared to be confident that CBD products are labelled with the correct information and properly tested by a regulatory authority. 45% responded that they were not confident that CBD products are labelled with the correct information and properly tested by a regulatory authority.
Commenting on the poll findings, Dr Andy Yates, ACI pharmacy lead, said: “ This new poll demonstrates that the public have a clear view regarding regulation of CBD; they want more of it and the FSA can be assured that they have overwhelming support for the new measures they have introduced.”
Dr Parveen Bhatarah, ACI regulatory lead, said: “Recently the FSA has taken a positive step by providing regulatory clarity. This will lay the foundations of a legal and trustworthy CBD industry in the UK. The public is very aware of this and their positive reaction to guidance from the FSA reinforces the need for such leadership.”
The survey was conducted in March 2020