ICM Surveys Smokers' Attitudes

About half of all UK smokers (46%) think that smoking can't really be all that dangerous, or the Government wouldn't let cigarettes be advertised, according to results from a new ASH survey recently carried out by ICM Research.

In the same poll, a majority of both smokers (54%) and non-smokers (61%) said they thought that the Government's continued delay in banning tobacco advertising showed that Ministers were not particularly concerned about the number of people smoking.

These new figures will make uncomfortable reading for Ministers as they face renewed calls from health groups to act on their often-repeated promises to ban tobacco advertising. An ad-ban was a Labour manifesto commitment in both 1997 and 2001, but a Bill that would have delivered on this promise ran out of time in the run-up to the General Election.

A Private Members Bill to ban tobacco advertising and promotion is currently being debated in the House of Lords, but is very unlikely to become law without Government Parliamentary time and support. Despite repeated calls from the Bill's sponsor, Lord Clement-Jones, and from health groups, the Government has so far refused to give the Bill this time. ASH is hoping that this poll will make Ministers think again.

John Connolly, Public Affairs Manager for ASH, commented, 'It simply beggars belief that, 40 years after we first found out about the dangers of smoking, half of all smokers still don't appreciate just how dangerous cigarettes are. This poll shows that the Government's actions (or lack of them) have an effect on how the public - especially smokers - perceive these risks. No doubt these results will come as a nasty shock to Ministers - I'm sure they genuinely do want to see a reduction in the 120,000 people who die every year in the UK from smoking. But they need to realise that they will be judged on their actions, and their attitude to cigarette advertising sends a very powerful message about their attitude to smoking as a whole.'

ICM conducted the research on a sample of 1,001 UK adults aged 18+ by telephone on 23 to 25th November 2001. The full report is available on the ASH website.

All articles 2006-22 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas unless otherwise stated.