2/3 of New York City residents oppose banning use of e-cigs

[Placebo Effect]

http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/downloads/pdf/smoke/public-opinion-survey-wave-2.pdf

Background: This survey was developed to evaluate the Communities Putting Prevention to Work
(CPPW) grant activities, assess smoking behaviors of current smokers, and assess awareness, attitudes,
and social norms about tobacco control policy strategies.

Methods: The tobacco Behavior and Public Opinion Survey (TBPOS) will be conducted three times
during the course of the CPPW grant: July 2010, April 2011, and February 2012. The TBPOS is a
Random-Digit-Dial cross-sectional phone survey conducted in English and Spanish. Participants are
identified through landline (90% of sample) and cell-phone (10% of sample) numbers. At each wave of
data collection, 1,440 adults (18 years and older), including 720 smokers and 720 non-smokers, are
enrolled. Smokers are over-sampled and the results are weighted based on the City’s current smoking
prevalence of 15.8% (NYC CHS, 2009) for Wave I and a current smoking prevalence of 14.0% (NYC
CHS, 2010) for Wave II.

. . . . .

Electronic cigarettes
Three percent of New Yorkers have ever tried an electronic cigarette, also known as an e-cigarette; 12%
of smokers and 2% of non-smokers. One third of respondents favor a proposal that would prohibit
smoking electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes in indoor public places (29% of smokers and 35% of nonsmokers)

Bill Godshall pointed the following out in an e-mail

Unlike for other survey questions, the NYC survey findings didn't indicate any differences between Wave 1 (July 2010) and Wave 2 (April 2011) findings regarding e-cigarettes.

Interestingly, 71% of New Yorkers support raising the legal age for cigarette sales from 18 to 21. And yet, CTFK, ACS, AHA, ALA all oppose doing so (probably because they know that doing so would further reduce youth smoking, which would further reduce government funding for tobacco control programs, which would further reduce funding for CTFK, ACS, AHA, ALA).

Nothing like being given federal funds to survey public opinions on dozens of different local tobacco/smoking prohibition policies regardless of their public health merit, enforceability, legality or constitutionality.

The survey indicates that the federal CPPW funds were also used to post "No Smoking" signs at outdoor bus and taxi waiting areas at City Airports and Port Authority and George Washington Bridge bus terminals.

 

[rothenbj]

Putting our tax dollars to work. RIGHT! Just surveying on the basis of land lines (90-10%) adds a bias as more and more landlines are disappearing. Of all places NYC probably has significant portion of it's population off wire by now. Heck, out here in the boonies without the benefit of cable, I no longer have a land line. I still have my land line number and landline cordless phones but they're attached to a wireless box.