Poll: 45 percent want more oil regulation

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 25 (UPI) -- Oil tops the list of industries U.S. residents would like to be more heavily regulated, closely followed by pharmaceuticals, a Harris Poll said.

In its annual survey, Harris found 31 percent of respondents said no industries need more government regulation. While 45 percent picked oil and 43 percent pharmaceuticals as most in need of tighter regulation, 40 percent said healthcare, 34 percent banks and tobacco companies, 31 percent electric and gas companies and 30 percent managed care companies.

Under 10 percent said computer hardware and software companies, online search engines, online retailers and supermarkets need more regulation. The percentage of people who would like more regulation of banks dropped 5 percentage points from last year's poll.

Thirty-six percent said they would not trust statements by businesses, down from 43 percent last year.

The least trusted industries are tobacco at 3 percent, oil at 6 percent, social media at 8 percent, managed care at 9 percent and telecom at 9 percent.

Only 11 percent trust health insurers and 12 percent each pharmaceuticals, car makers, airlines and life insurance companies.

There was an 8-percentage-point increase in trust in banks, to 20 percent. Supermarkets and hospitals moved up 7 points to 38 percent and 36 percent.

The poll was conducted online Nov. 14-Nov. 19 with a sample of 2,383 adults. Harris does not report margins of error.