Public opinion on tobacco use, its taxes and public policy

Public opinion is an important vehicle in shaping legislative efforts and public policy related to tobacco use and related taxes. This study examined public opinion about policy related to tobacco use and raising tobacco taxes in a Midwestern state. The American Lung Association of Indiana provided a grant to sponsor this project. A structured questionnaire was developed, field tested and revised for the final data collection procedure. A sample of 800 adult subjects was randomly selected and telephone interviewed by the Indiana University Center for Survey Research. The collected data were subjected to descriptive and inferential statistics. The data revealed a good representative sample of adult males and females for various age groups and socioeconomic backgrounds. Among other findings, 29% were currently smokers, 23% were former smokers, and 47.5% never smoked. More than 90% support a requirement that public places have nonsmoking areas. About 85% favor an increase in cigarette taxes to pay for health education and tobacco-related research. The relationship of the subjects' gender, education and income to their opinion about the various aspects of tobacco, taxes and related policies were examined.