Public Opinion Surveys

Solving the point of sale (POS) problem has become a fifth core strategy of tobacco control programming. It follows the traditional efforts of (1) raising cigarette excise taxes, (2) implementing clean indoor air laws, (3) offering cessation services, and (4) launching hard-hitting counter-marketing campaigns. 

For tobacco control advocates who are thinking of adding – or who have just started to add – point of sale issues to their agenda, conducting a public opinion survey is a good first step. 

Public opinion surveys allow us to measure awareness and acceptance of tobacco control policy strategies.  Survey results offer baseline data that can be used to advocate for policy change or to evaluate current work and opportunities for the future.

Survey findings often reveal significant public support for tobacco control at the point of sale.

For example, according to a 2011 survey led by Ms. Shannon Farley at the  New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, 66% of people surveyed, overall, favored prohibiting stores near schools from selling tobacco (68% of non-smokers and 55% of smokers). As shown in the figure below, people in New York City generally favor tobacco retailer reduction in the form of limiting the number of licenses (54% overall), prohibiting pharmacies from selling tobacco (60%), and prohibiting grocery stores from selling tobacco (50%). 

Another Point-of-Sale Community Support Survey was led in early 2011 by Dr. Sarah Moreland Russel of the Center for Tobacco Policy Research at Washington University in St. Louis. Again, results indicate strong public support for tobacco control policies at the point-of-sale. Among survey respondents in St. Louis County, 75% do not support tobacco advertising in pharmacies, and 63% do not support tobacco advertising in grocery stores.

Public opinion surveys are generally administered by telephone to a sample of local adults, including both smokers and nonsmokers, often by random digit dial.  Survey topics can include, but are not limited to:

• Demographic variables

• Current and past smoking status

• Opinions on the placement of tobacco advertising, such as:
  • whether or not advertising should be allowed inside of gas stations and convenience stores
  • whether or not advertising should be allowed inside of gas stations and convenience stores
  • whether or not tobacco advertising should be allowed within 1000 feet (about three blocks) near schools, playgrounds and daycare facilities
  • appreciation of voluntary decreases in the number of tobacco ads in stores by gas station and convenience store owners

• Opinions on proposals regard the way tobacco products are sold, such as
  • Limiting the number of  - or not granting – tobacco retailer licenses issued that allow retailers to sell tobacco
  • Prohibiting particular store types from selling tobacco, such as pharmacies, grocery stores, or any store near schools
  • Requiring that tobacco be sold only in stores that sell only tobacco products and nothing else
  • Increasing state or city taxes on a pack of cigarettes or on other tobacco products such as cigars, cigarillos, loose tobacco, and smokeless products
  • Requiring retailers to keep tobacco products out of customers’ view
  • Prohibiting tobacco companies from paying New York City retailers to display their products and advertisements
  • Raising the legal minimum age to purchase cigarettes from 18 to 21
  • Prohibiting price promotions such as coupons and two-for-one deals on cigarette packs

• Perceptions of the presence and severity of second hand smoke in public areas

• Knowledge of local smoke free air laws

For more information on public opinion surveys, get in touch, or follow the Next Steps in the sidebar at right.