N OV E L F O O D
BRITISH PUBLIC
SUPPORTS CBD
REGULATION
The UK’s CBD industry will likely look a lot different in a year’s time
thanks (or no thanks) to new FSA rules. But according to a recent
YouGov poll, consumers feel regulations are long overdue.
Words by Gordon Stribling
The announcement that CBD would be regulated
as a novel food was met with mixed reactions from
the legal cannabis industry.
Some welcomed the move, believing that the
authorisation process would give the market a
much-needed clean-up, others argued that it
would destroy small businesses and only leave
room for the major players with the capital to play
ball.
But a recent survey from the Association for the
Cannabinoid Industry (ACI) has revealed that the
British public is largely in favour of FSA regulation.
The poll found that the UK public is very familiar
with CBD in 2020. 71% of respondents were aware
of CBD and 16% had purchased a CBD product.
The YouGov and ACI survey presented the 2,056
respondents with a summary of the FSA’s recent
guidance and a short explanation of the novel food
deadline.
The recent guidance states that there may
be adverse effects in vulnerable groups from
consuming CBD and advises healthy adults to limit
their intake to 70mg a day. The advice to pregnant
women is not to use CBD products.
When asked whether they agreed with the
FSA’s decision to regulate CBD products, 74% of
respondents expressed a positive reaction and only
62
“The FSA can be
assured that they have
overwhelming support
for the new measures
they have introduced”
8% opposed the regulation.
The report revealed a lack of consumer confi dence
in the unregulated CBD products currently on sale
in the UK.
Less than a third were confi dent in the information
on CBD product labels and believed that they were
properly tested by a regulatory authority. 45% did
not trust this.
ACI pharmacy lead Dr Andy Yates, 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.”