OBJECTIVE: Blacks/African Americans have experienced direct public health harm from US governmental agencies (eg, police violence, Tuskegee syphilis experiment) that may influence perceptions of the trustworthiness of government messages regarding tobacco products. Consequently, we sought to explore Black Americans' awareness of and trust in the FDA's role as a tobacco regulator. METHODS: Data were from 2 focus groups conducted with a purposive sample of 23 Black stakeholders in Los Angeles, California. Discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim for analysis. RESULTS: Although most (N = 14; 61%) participants were aware of the FDA's role as a tobacco regulator, they all noted that the Black community in Los Angeles is not aware. Recurrent across the focus groups were discussions about distrust in the FDA with 4 main contributing factors: (1) that the FDA is influenced by the tobacco, agricultural, and pharmaceutical industries; (2) that the FDA is influenced by money and politics; (3) that the FDA is a bureaucracy exercising monopoly and power; and (4) that the FDA lacks technical capacity and competence to regulate tobacco products. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings highlight opportunities for the FDA to increase awareness and build trust in their tobacco regulatory role through communication campaigns targeted at Black Americans, and community engagement with Black stakeholders.
OBJECTIVE: Blacks/African Americans have experienced direct public health harm from US governmental agencies (eg, police violence, Tuskegee syphilis experiment) that may influence perceptions of the trustworthiness of government messages regarding tobacco products. Consequently, we sought to explore Black Americans' awareness of and trust in the FDA's role as a tobacco regulator. METHODS: Data were from 2 focus groups conducted with a purposive sample of 23 Black stakeholders in Los Angeles, California. Discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim for analysis. RESULTS: Although most (N = 14; 61%) participants were aware of the FDA's role as a tobacco regulator, they all noted that the Black community in Los Angeles is not aware. Recurrent across the focus groups were discussions about distrust in the FDA with 4 main contributing factors: (1) that the FDA is influenced by the tobacco, agricultural, and pharmaceutical industries; (2) that the FDA is influenced by money and politics; (3) that the FDA is a bureaucracy exercising monopoly and power; and (4) that the FDA lacks technical capacity and competence to regulate tobacco products. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings highlight opportunities for the FDA to increase awareness and build trust in their tobacco regulatory role through communication campaigns targeted at Black Americans, and community engagement with Black stakeholders.
Entities:
Keywords:
Food and Drug Administration; black Americans; qualitative research; stakeholders; tobacco regulation; trust
Authors: Annette R Kaufman; Lila J Finney Rutten; Mark Parascandola; Kelly D Blake; Erik M Augustson Journal: Am J Prev Med Date: 2015-02-25 Impact factor: 5.043
Authors: Marcella H Boynton; Robert P Agans; J Michael Bowling; Noel T Brewer; Erin L Sutfin; Adam O Goldstein; Seth M Noar; Kurt M Ribisl Journal: BMC Public Health Date: 2016-06-23 Impact factor: 3.295
Authors: Kacie C A Blackman; Sabrina L Smiley; Natalie M Kintz; Yaneth L Rodriguez; Ricky N Bluthenthal; Chih-Ping Chou; Tess Boley Cruz; Rosa Barahona; Mary Ann Pentz; Jonathan M Samet; Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati Journal: Tob Regul Sci Date: 2019-05-01