Smoking Ban Support Increases in US

In a recent article on the Web site, Gallup Wellbeing, by Andrew Dugan, based on the Gallup Daily Tracking Survey that interviews a random sample of 2,027 adults, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia by telephone that was conducted July 10-14, 2013, it was found that 22% of respondents say that they would support a complete smoking ban today, up from 12% in 2007. Additionally, this article reports that 55% of respondents support a smoking ban in all public places.

Though support is growing, the percentage of Americans wanting to ban smoking entirely remains relatively low. Nonwhites (39%) back a complete smoking ban and those with no more than a high school diploma (29%) are more likely than those with more education to say they want to make smoking illegal. In a previous survey, it was found that respondents with no college education were generally the most likely to smoke.  Not surprisingly, less than 10% of smokers support the ban and only 12% of Midwesterners compared to 25% of respondents in other regions of the country are supportive of the ban. Republicans support (19%) mostly aligns with the overall support of the ban while Democrats support (26%) is slightly higher. 

Read more:
http://www.gallup.com/poll/163736/support-complete-smoking-ban-increases.aspx

http://www.gallup.com/poll/156833/one-five-adults-smoke-tied-time-low.aspx

Cigarette Use Declining in the U.S.

In the United States, smokers are lighting up less than ever.  Gallup reports that since the 1970s, cigarette smokers that smoke more than a pack a day have steadily decreased, reaching their lowest point yet measured.  This all-time low coincides with this year's tie with 2009 for lowest cigarette usage among American adults; Gallup reports that one in five  lit up in the past week.  To anti-smoking advocates looking forward, these surveys represent success with struggles on the horizon; the study underscores the fact that most smokers know the negative effects of tobacco use, decreasing the usefulness of media campaigns that highlight the negative effects of smoking.  This in turn makes recommendations concerning tobacco control programs being brought to CDC-recommended levels require further analysis.  The question remains as to whether spending more money to bring states into compliance would bring a significant impact on tobacco usage or not.

Cigarette Smokers Worldwide

A recent post on the Economist’s Graphic Detail blog includes a global map of cigarette smokers in 2010, as reported by the American Cancer Society and World Lung Foundation.  According to the post, cigarette consumption decreased in Western Europe by 26% from 1990 to 2010 but increased by 57% in the Middle East and Africa over the same time period.  Also worth noting is the large disparity between the percentage of males and females that smoke which, according to the post, is largest in China, where 50% of men smoke but only 2% of women smoke.

Where Americans Are Most Likely to Light Up

According to recent Gallup polling, smoking rates are highest in the South and Midwest, typically states that "have fewer legal smoking restrictions." Smoking rates top out at 29% in Kentucky, followed by six states where 26% of residents smoke. Utah has the lowest percentage of smokers, checking in at only 11%, with California (15%) and Hawaii (16%) closing out the bottom three. 21% of all Americans say they smoke, unchanged from 2008. The number of states with under 20% of residents smoking has increased, from 10 in 2008 to 18 today.

Excluding West Virginia, all states where over 25% of residents smoke are located in the South and Midwest. On the other end, 14 of the 18 states with under 20% of their residents smoking are located in the East or West. Smoking regulations appear to correlate with a state's percentage of smokers. Gallup writes: "There are no bans on smoking in bars in all but one of the states where rates are 25% or higher and no bans on smoking in restaurants in all but two. However, smoking is banned from workplaces, restaurants, and bars in all but 3 of the 18 states where smoking rates are lower than 20%."

Gallup writes of the current nationwide smoking rate of 21%: "Although this is much lower than the historic highs of around 40% Gallup found from the mid-1940s to the mid-1970s, there remains significant variation across states, with smoking levels in many states still at 25% or higher."