Saturday
Apr142012
"Independent" poll supports plain packaging of tobacco
Saturday, April 14, 2012 at 16:28 See if you can spot the contradiction in this sentence:
An independent YouGov survey of 10,000 adults, conducted for Action on Smoking and Health, suggests 62% of people support plain packaging while only 11% oppose it.
Independent? You be the judge: Peter Kellner, YouGov and ASH.
The Observer has the poll story here: Public backs plans to remove branding from cigarette packets.
Update: Yesterday, writing on Conservative Home, Mark Field MP argued that plain packaging should be resisted as a matter of principle.
Today Roger Helmer MEP, who I mentioned in my previous post, has let rip on his blog: Back off, Lansley!
Reader Comments (12)
Ha, ha, ha! Waiting for this one from the Kellner/Arnott axis and not disappointed. They never change. Wonder why it's only 62%? The way Kellner does it, it should be 100%, shouldn't it? Mutiny in the ranks or what. True to form, the media will trumpet it from the rooftops.
Raw data would be nice, the usual tedious stuff, you know, methodology, questions, demograph etc. It'll freeze in hell before we get it.
Arnott and Kellner are so indoctrinated with their own propaganda, they actually do believe every word they say. They remind me of deeply religious people who are not prepared to accept another point of view or another way of life. They live in a parallel universe; I only wished they would stay there permanently and leave me in peace.
"Wonder why it's only 62%?"
Probably because 70% is beginning to look a bit old hat.
"70 percent of Indiana voters support smoking ban"
"70% of Texans want smoking ban"
"70% of Czechs in favour of banning smoking in restaurants"
"70% Spaniards support restaurant smoking ban"
"70% Of Smokers Want to Quit"
"70% of smokers in Wisconsin want to quit"
"70% Of US Smokers Want To Quit, CDC Study Claims"
"70% of Smokers Suffer from Mental Disorders"
"Opinion polls in France - often considered a nation of smokers - suggest 70% of the people support the ban,"
"A recent Cancer Council Victoria survey indicated 70% of the 4500 respondents supported a ban on smoking in outdoor dining areas".
Etc. etc. ad infinitum
Here's an interesting one though.
New poll shows public back Health Select Committee amendment on smokefree law.
Tuesday 31 January 2006
"An all-Party group of ten members of the Select Committee, led by the Chair of the Committee Kevin Barron MP, has tabled an amendment to the Health Bill that would ensure that all workplaces and enclosed public places, including all pubs and membership clubs, would be smokefree."
Asked whether they support the Committee's proposal 70% of those polled said yes, with only 18% saying they were opposed [1].
[1] The survey was conducted by BMRB International using the BMRB Access Omnibus (telephone) survey between 20-22 January 2006. It involved 831 adults aged 16+ in England.
http://www.ash.org.uk/media-room/press-releases/new-poll-shows-public-back-health-select-committee-amendment-on-smokefree-law
I do YouGov surveys but wasn't asked. I wonder why.
Xopher: I think Junican did a good piece on this and I hope he forgives me for repeating him and I'm sure he'll correct any mistakes i make. Being on YouGov's list, surveys were sent to him but he never fully knew what they were about until he started. One day, he was sent a 'survey' on cows(!). He ploughed through a list of questions on cows and reached the end. His answers were downloaded. Then a couple of questions on smoking appeared which he answered and they were then downloaded. Then another section on a completely different subject.
He came to the conclusion that these 'smoking' questions were purposely hidden in rubbish surveys which most people would have given up on by the time they should reach them or not even started. Except, of course, that the 'chosen people' would be notified in advance so were able to plough through and answer 'correctly'.
Easy, peasy, eh? Well, either that or they only send them out to every tax sponging anti smoking 'charity' around.
I'm on the YouGov list of respondents and have filled in lots of surveys - but have never been asked to fill in a survey about the smoking ban at any time. I didn't receive an email alert about plain packaging
I'm a smoker and said so when filling in the application form.
@ Ellie.
Yep, same here.
Then again, Yougov polls are notoriously badly designed, even without the obvious bias of Kellner being an ASH trustee. I was recently asked a load of questions about reducing Government involvement in our lives. ALL of the options gave charities/small business as the alternative. Now in many areas I would like business to play a bigger role than Government. But charities? Like ASH? So how was I expected to answer if clear options weren't given? It's the sort of thing I pick my undergraduate students on before they even get to pilot study stage. Yet this stuff is used to inform policy and received yards of national press coverage.... >sigh<
Let's make it easy shall we! ASH want a survey to support their next move so they simply tell Kellner what is needed. He then frames the questions (for the framing is very important indeed) and sends them out in surveys-in continuing blocks of 500 until he has 1,400-1,500 required responses; ie 70%-75% or whatever criteria has been laid down and then simply presents the survey as proof of what ASH are claiming.
This would still work if ASH wanted to prove that smoking dogs suffered more from piles than non smoking dogs! Simples!
Yougov surveys are customer cherry picked, I know many smokers who do these surveys, yet not one was approached with this survey. and an independent survey on behalf of ASH says it all indeed.
Pop over to the daily mail folks and see the response from an article by David Hockney.
I have just counted 66 against the proposal and 20 for.
Makes a complete mockery of ASH,s silly polls.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2129954/Smoking-hot-memo-David-Hockney-Health-Minister-Keep-mean-dreary-views-life.html
Brilliant article by David Hockney in The Mail online. Lansley told The Times the government wanted the tobacco companies to have " no business" within the UK.
So this must now be government policy, which could mean eighty thousand job losses. Im glad people are speaking out against this, its a shame the UK continue's to be ruled by health fascists and the despised nanny state.
Did not Cameron promise an end to this? Clearly, this was just another lie.
It's very odd, these "survey results". As Sheila points out above, just about every MSM article about smoking which has a comments section, the sentiment is overwhelmingly pro freedom of choice and anti-legislation. There is inevitably a contingent of ASH shills, spouting the orthodoxy as prescribed by the professional antis, but they are always a small minority.