Over on Frank Davis's blog there is an interesting discussion about the social impact of smoking bans and which restrictions inconvenience smokers the most.
Frank's first post on the subject was prompted partly by my own request for comments about the ban. (Some of them will appear in this week's issue of The Publican's Morning Advertiser. I will post it online as soon as it is published on Thursday.)
Frank has now come up with a proposal for a social impact study and he needs volunteers to help him do the work. It's a major task. In the commercial world the project he has devised would cost many thousands of pounds.
I suggest Frank has a look at a poll conducted two years ago by Holden Pearmain for the Tobacco Manufacturers Association. HP used an online panel of 1000 adult (18+) smokers.
The results were not widely publicised but we found them interesting and very useful. Some of the answers may surprise you but they reflect the fact that people (even smokers) are rarely if ever unanimous in their opinions.
Anyway, for those with the patience to read the whole thing, here are the questions (and answers) from the May 2010 Smokers' Panel survey:
1. A few years ago, smoking was banned in indoor public places. Do you think the ban:
1. Is too strict and should be relaxed – 55.8
2. Is about right – 38.0
3. Should be widened to include some outdoor areas too – 5.6
4. Don’t know – 0.6
2. If you think the ban should be relaxed, would you like to see the ban lifted in:
1. Specially designated smoking rooms – 57.5
2. All pubs and bars – 33.0
3. Small pubs, bars – 4.3
4. Restaurants – 1.3
5. Members' clubs – 2.7
6. Don’t know – 1.3
3. If you think the ban should be widened, would you like to see smoking banned [tick as many as apply]:
1. Near the doors and windows of pubs and bars – 9.8
2. Near the doors and windows of restaurants – 12.4
3. Near the doors and windows of clubs – 8.0
4. Near the doors and windows of offices/other businesses – 9.8
5. In children's playgrounds – 18.2
6. Near children's playgrounds – 12.7
7. In cars where children present – 16.2
8. In any cars – 4.0
9. In private homes – 0.7
10. In parks or public beaches – 5.2
11. In the street – 3.2
4. Since the smoking ban, which of the following statements best reflects what you have noticed about the NUMBER of pubs in your area:
1. I have not noticed any pub closures since the ban – 21.2
2. I have noticed a few pub closures since the ban – 41.6
3. I have noticed many pub closures since the ban – 29.7
4. Don’t know – 7.6
5. Since the smoking ban, which of the following statements best reflects what you have noticed about the POPULARITY of pubs in your area:
1. I have noticed pubs to be busier since the ban – 3.0
2. I have noticed pubs seem to be quieter since the ban – 68.6
3. I have not noticed any change since the ban – 19.9
4. Don’t know – 8.5
6. Which of these statements reflects your opinion on the ban on smoking in pubs?
1. I agree with the ban on smoking in pubs – 36.5
2. I disagree with the ban on smoking in pubs – 58.0
3. Don’t know – 5.5
7. How did the smoking ban affect the way you used pubs?
1. I still go to the pub as before – 31.7
2. I still go to the pub, but less often than before – 29.1
3. I still go to the pub, but for a shorter time than before – 10.2
4. I no longer go to the pub – 24.5
5. Don’t know – 4.5
8. How has the ban on smoking in pubs affected the way you smoke at home?
1. It hasn't made any difference to my smoking at home – 75.7
2. I now smoke less at home than I did before the ban – 9.1
3. I now smoke more at home than I did before the ban – 13.0
4. Don’t know – 2.2
9. Has the smoking ban in pubs, bars and clubs led you to:
1. Only drink in the home – 11.9
2. Reduce the overall amount of alcohol that you consume – 5.5
3. Buy more alcohol from shops and off-licences – 21.1
4. Buy less alcohol from pubs, bars and clubs – 15.7
5. Increase the overall amount of alcohol that you consume – 1.8
6. No effect – 42.3
7. Don’t know – 1.6
10. Do you feel that the indoor smoking ban has:
1. Increased your sense of being part of the local community – 6.6
2. Decreased your sense of being part of the local community – 42.4
3. Had no effect – 46.6
4. Don’t know – 4.4
11. Would you be more or less likely to visit a pub, club, bar or restaurant if smoking were:
1. Permitted in a separate smoking room inside
1. More likely – 68.3
2. Less likely – 4.5
3. The same – 27.2
12. Would you be more or less likely to visit a pub, club, bar or restaurant if smoking were:
2. Permitted in a ventilated smoking area inside
1. More likely – 68.4
2. Less likely – 5.4
3. The same – 26.2
13a. Would the following changes affect how often you visit a pub?
1. A ban within five metres of any doorway or window:
1. Yes, I would go more often – 9.0
2. Yes, I would go less – 45.4
3. No, I would go the same – 32.3
4. Don’t know – 13.3
13b. Would the following changes affect how often you visit a pub?
2. A ban on smoking in part of the venue's outdoor area or garden
1. Yes, I would go more often – 7.7
2. Yes, I would go less – 52.3
3. No, I would go the same – 28.3
4. Don’t know – 11.6
13c. Would the following changes affect how often you visit a pub?
3. A ban on smoking in all of the venue's outdoor area or garden:
1. Yes, I would go more often – 5.6
2. Yes, I would go less – 62.9
3. No, I would go the same – 20.8
4. Don’t know – 10.8
It won't surprise you to know that in 2010 our old friends ASH and YouGov were spinning a rather different story. On June 27, 2010, the Observer reported that, according to findings based on five separate surveys carried out by YouGov between April 2007 and March 2010:
Half of all smokers now support the smoke-free law, and nearly one in four strongly supports it. Opposition among smokers appears to be ebbing away with only one smoker in six strongly opposing the ban.
In contrast the Holden Pearmain survey found that:
The ASH/YouGov polls also found that:
... a substantial proportion of smokers want to see restrictions extended to children's play areas and smoking in cars. Just under half of smokers support a ban in play areas, while 61% support a ban in cars with children.
This is the angle the Observer led with – see: Smokers back extension of ban to play areas and cars carrying children.
However, as the results above show, the Holden Pearmain survey got a very different response. In May 2010, according to HP, fewer than one in five smokers supported a ban on smoking in children's playgrounds and only 16 per cent wanted smoking banned in cars with children.
Perhaps it's time to update the Holden Pearmain poll and find out what a representative and statistically significant sample of smokers really thinks before ASH/YouGov try to spin that message again themselves. The use of an independent third party to conduct the survey is pretty important too.