Americans sour on Big Pharma after pandemic, opioid crisis: Poll

Public opinion on the pharmaceutical industry has declined sharply over the past decade, according to new polling released by Gallup.

The proportion of Americans who believe pharmaceutical companies provide good or excellent services declined 21 points between 2010 and 2023, according to a poll released Monday. Public controversies over COVID-19 vaccines and the opioid crisis have implicated the pharmaceutical industry in recent years.

Fifty-four percent of Americans polled by Gallup reported a positive view of the quality of the pharmaceutical industry in 2010, with that figure dropping to 33% in 2023.

Gallup polled 1,013 American adults between Nov. 1 and Nov. 21. The poll has a margin of error of 4%.

Another Gallup poll released in September found that 60% of Americans had a negative view of the pharmaceutical industry, with just 18% saying they viewed it positively.

While Americans broadly disapprove of the pharmaceutical industry, the degree to which individuals disapprove appears to be tied to partisan identification.

Republican support for the industry surged in 2020 when the Trump administration was working with drug companies to produce and distribute COVID-19 vaccines but dropped considerably after conservative politicians and pundits began to air criticisms of the vaccines, according to Gallup.

Americans also largely blame the pharmaceutical industry for the opioid crisis.

Eighty-three percent of Americans polled by The Associated Press and the NORC Center for Public Affairs Research in 2019 said the pharmaceutical industry was to blame for the opioid crisis. Another poll conducted by NPR and Ipsos in 2019 found that 57% of Americans believe the industry should be held responsible for its role in the crisis.

Approximately 645,000 Americans died from overdoses involving opioids between 1999 and 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Not every part of the healthcare system experienced the same magnitude of decline as the pharmaceutical industry, though American confidence did drop across the board.

The percentage of Americans reporting quality services from nurses declined 6 points to 82% between 2010 and 2023, while physicians dropped 15 points to 69%.

PhRMA, a trade association representing drug companies, did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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