Poll: Two-thirds of Wyoming voters support statewide smoking ban

casper star tribune ^ | 10/20/07 | N/A

[Wheee The People]

Poll: Two-thirds of Wyoming voters support statewide smoking ban

CHEYENNE, Wyo. - A statewide poll shows that two-thirds of Wyoming voters support a ban on smoking in public places, including restaurants and bars.

The poll, commissioned by the American Cancer Society in Wyoming and other health organizations, also found that 74 percent of registered voters believe the right of customers and employees to breathe clean air outweighs smokers' right to light up indoors.

"It shows that the people of Wyoming would absolutely support a smoke-free Wyoming," said Loretta Wolf, spokeswoman for the American Cancer Society in Wyoming. The American Cancer Society and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, a national group that supports smoke-free legislation, also helped pay for the poll.

Harstad Strategic Research Inc. of Boulder, Colo. conducted the poll between Sept. 26 and Oct 1. They contacted 504 registered voters across the state. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percent.

A poll commissioned last year by the Casper Star-Tribune found 57 percent of Wyoming voters supported a comprehensive, indoor smoking ban. That poll, conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Research, Inc., surveyed 625 Wyoming voters and had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The new American Cancer Society poll found that 92 percent of voters say they would go to restaurants more frequently or at least as frequently as they currently do if smoking were prohibited in them.

Only 6 percent of voters said they would go to restaurants less frequently if indoor smoking were outlawed, while 8 percent said they would be less likely to frequent bars.

While 66 percent of voters supported a statewide smoking ban, the American Cancer Society poll found 32 percent opposed it. Democrats and Republicans supported the ban at about the same level, 67 percent and 68 percent, respectively.

Support for the ban also remained constant among people of different ages, with support only varying a few percentage points between voters aged 18 to those 60 or older.

The poll found that 70 percent of women supported a smoking ban compared to 61 percent of men.

More than 70 percent responded that they believe exposure to secondhand cigarette smoke is harmful to people's health. Twenty-seven percent of voters surveyed said that exposure to secondhand smoke is "just somewhat" or "not at all" harmful.

The poll results were released while a legislative committee is considering whether to introduce smoke-free legislation at the upcoming budget session in February.

Wolf, of the American Cancer Society, said her group is pushing for a comprehensive bill that includes a ban on smoking in bars, restaurants or other businesses. About 27 states have adopted smoke-free laws but the restrictions vary.

Sen. Charles Scott, R-Casper, chairman of the Labor, Health and Social Services Committee, has said he only intends to introduce the bill in next year's budget session if a majority of the committee members supports it.

Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, sponsored a similar bill in the last session, but it failed to make it to the House floor for a first-reading vote. Lawmakers anticipate a tough fight in the coming session if the bill moves forward.

Dan Hatanelas, manager of a bar in Cheyenne, opposed a citywide smoking ordinance that became law last year. He said he would also oppose statewide legislation.

However, Hatanelas said that a statewide ban might be more fair to businesses in Cheyenne that now must compete against nearby Laramie County businesses that are exempt from the local ban. He said his bar saw a 19-percent drop in revenue during the first 12 months of the local ban, which took effect in August 2006.

"I'd hate to see anything happen, but maybe on a statewide basis it would be less traumatic for us," Hatanelas said.

In addition to Cheyenne, the cities of Laramie and Evanston have adopted their own smoke-free ordinances. The Rock Springs City Council is considering a similar ordinance. Voters in Casper rejected a proposed ban in 2000.

Information from: Star-Tribune, http://www.casperstartribune.net

[Dutch Boy]

I have always wondered what would happen if all the tobacco companies just stopped producing cigarettes prior to the big shakedown. Congress would have collectively crapped their pants when billions of tax dollars instantly dry up almost overnight. Even if they continued to pay the farmers and workers full price it would be cheap that the scam fines they got.

[mylife]

I wish they would.

I’ll just grow my own

[Cementjungle]

believe the right of customers and employees to breathe clean air outweighs smokers' right to light up indoors

Will they also ban office buildings with toxic synthetic materials in them, or polluting cars and trucks?

[Dutch Boy]

I think it would only last a few weeks and the government would find all sorts of positive things about tobacco.

BTW - Is it illegal to grow home use tobacco or is it a climate restrictive crop?

[Eastbound]

Good quote, RKV.

[Eastbound]

(Grin)

I've been smoking for a long, long time and have never been bothered with menopause.

[Snoopers-868th]

ALL states, and cities who ban smoking should not be allowed to collect taxes from cigarette sales.

I say we start campaigning for just that. :)

[MaxMax]

BTW - Is it illegal to grow home use tobacco or is it a climate restrictive crop?

It's legal and easy. I was planning a small crop this year but
didn't get around to it. Seeds are sold online.

How long until they try taxing home growers?

[Gabz]

The American Cancer Society and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, a national group that supports smoke-free legislation, also helped pay for the poll.

This of course is a totally UNbiased poll....NOT.

Nanny State Ping.

[Gabz]

Sounds an awful lot like “keep polling until you get the answer you want”

They use the exact same tactic in every state. In Delaware, a state with a population of less than 1 million, they polled 700 people. Amazingly, 700 was exactly the same number they used in Pennsylvania, New York and several other states with populations of many magnitudes larger than Delaware, yet claimed they were just as valid..........

[Gabz]

I'm from NY - we did it nearly first. now all they do is whine about not getting enough 'cig taxes' "for the children"

I'm originally from NYC, but was unfortunate enough to be a Delawarean when they did it (before NY and just like NY, DE continues to whine about not enough cig taxes. IDIOTS.

Now I'm a Virginian and am trying to keep it from happening here.

[Gabz]

It is a state-wide smoking ban for public indoor places such as resturants, bars and a few other venues.

It is not even that. It is a statewide ban for indoor PRIVATE property. Indoor public places are government controlled buildings, not privately owned buildings.

[DoughtyOne]

Yes, I believe you are correct. These are places where the public congregates, but they are privately owned enterprises.

[Wheee The People]

“This of course is a totally UNbiased poll....NOT”

It’s just a poll, take it however you want...Here are some results that you can’t dismiss so easily...The following is the percentage of people who favor bans on smoking in recent elections:

Ohio 58%
Washington 63%
Arizona 54%
Nevada 53%
Florida 71%

Feel free to look up the percentages where the legislature passed the ban.

[Gabz]

That’s the thing that bugs me about these “polls.” They never make the distinction, thus blurring the fact that the proponents of these laws are actually looking to turn private property into “public” property.

I have long contended that if tobacco is so “deadly” it should be placed on the forbidden list of controlled substances. But guess who the major OPPONENTS of such a proposal are? If you guessed those proposing the smoking (actually smoker) bans, you would be correct. They rely too much on tobacco tax revenue to pad their pockets to consider such a solution.

[Gabz]

Just like those who conducted the poll, you are only touting the results because they agree with your agenda. The polls/studies/surveys/whatever that do not agree with the pre-ordained outcome never see the light of day.

Look at the wording of the questions in this “poll,” and tell me it is not weighted to get a specific predetermined percentage.

The same people do the same “poll” in whatever state and tend to claim similar results regardless of locale. There is no proof of the claims, just a one-sided press release issued.

Would you so blithely go along with the results of a CAIR funded “poll” that claimed “2/3 of the population of the state of X did not believe Islamics wished to kill Americans?” Or a La Raza funded poll that claimed “ 2/3 of the population of the State of X was in favor of illegals being given amnesty?”

I have to say you would, given your obvious acceptance of these results of”polls” funded by groups that stand to financially benefit from legislation based upon thier “polls.”

[theymakemesick]

How will they pay for healthcare?

[traviskicks]

thanks for the ping, i believe a similar story was posted some time ago tho, pretty amazing that 2/3rds of people belive this...

[George W. Bush]

Personnally, I’m for no smoking in eating establishments but there should be NO ban all other places. I bugs the hell out of me when someone smokes next to where I am eating. It’s just common decency and common courtesy NOT to smoke around people who are eating. My opinion for what it’s worth.

I agree. I'm a smoker but I really get annoyed if someone lights up while I'm still eating.

Proper smoking etiquette is that you don't light up until after all others have finished eating. And that will rarely happen in a restaurant unless it's mid-afternoon in a small town or something.

There is something about the smell of tobacco that inhibits appetite for many people. I lose all interest in food, even food I'm enjoying, if I so much as smell burning tobacco. It doesn't make me want to light up. It just annoys me.

[George W. Bush]

BTW, Montana just enacted a smoking ban indoors. Must be something to go outside in below zero weather to have a smoke!

I've lived in MT and WY. I'm not one bit surprised that either would ban smoking.

Now, ban chewing tobacco and we're talking armed insurrection.