Contact: Maridith Geuder
While more than 70 percent of Mississippi homes report now being smoke-free, an even higher percentage of the state's citizens believe many public places should ban smoking altogether.
Among the major findings of a new survey released Wednesday [Jan. 30] by Mississippi State's Social Science Research Center, 82 percent of state citizens say they believe convenience stores should be smoke-free, while 79 percent feel the same way about shopping malls and 64 percent about restaurants.
The university center has spent the past two years surveying residents about their tobacco use and attitudes. Titled the 2001 Social Climate Survey, the recently completed report shows that "the state has experienced significant changes in the social climate for tobacco control," said research psychologist Robert C. McMillen, who directed the project.
SSRC director Arthur G. Cosby said the telephone survey of more than 1,500 Mississippi adults provides "objective evidence" of Mississippi beliefs about tobacco usage. "Our analysis shows strong support for a number of public policy measures related to smoking," he added.
The level of support for smoke-free public places is one of the study's most notable findings, both scientists agree.
"Even though the state lags behind the rest of the nation in smoke-free policies, there is significantly more support in Mississippi than in the nation as a whole for smoke-free settings," McMillen said. "Our public policies do not yet reflect these changing attitudes, however."
When compared to the rest of the nation, the survey also illustrates that Mississippians often are more progressive in attitudes about tobacco prevention, McMillen said.
For instance, he observed that Mississippi adults are more likely than U.S. adults to believe that tobacco should be regulated as a drug (76 percent statewide vs. 66 percent nationally). They are about the same in support for penalizing stores selling tobacco to minors (96.4 percent statewide vs. 94 percent nationally).
Among other survey findings:
-- More than 79 percent of households do not allow smoking in the family vehicle.
-- More than 96 percent of Mississippi adults believe that secondhand smoke is dangerous.
-- 63 percent believes smoking should not be allowed in any area at work.
-- 72 percent says it is fair to tax tobacco, up from 67 percent the previous year.
-- 64 percent believes tobacco company advertising should be prohibited at sporting and cultural events, up from 60 percent the previous year.
The Social Science Research Center, which celebrated its 50th anniversary last year, conducts basic and applied research encompassing social and economic development, families and children, alcohol safety, substance abuse, and a range of other issues. The center is located in the Mississippi Research and Technology Park, which is located across U.S. Highway 82 from the MSU main campus.
For more information about the Mississippi Social Climate Survey, telephone Dr. McMillen at (662) 325-7127 or visit the SSRC's Web site at http://www.ssrc.msstate.edu/.