Tompkins County Tobacco Use Survey, June 2004
Survey Final Report: Summary of findings

From: "Tobacco Use Among Adult Residents of Tompkins County, New York, June 2004," prepared by Joel LaLone Consulting, Watertown, NY.

Summary of Findings

The following is a summary of the overall findings of this study regarding the attitudes and behaviors related to tobacco use among Tompkins County adults:

1. The current smoking rate in Tompkins County is 18.2%, with an overall all-types-of-tobacco use rate of 19.9%

2. Use of tobacco products among Tompkins County residents is strongly correlated with gender, education level, and employment status; males use tobacco more than females, those individuals with some college background but no degree most commonly use tobacco, and employed individuals use tobacco more than those who are not employed.

3. An overwhelming majority of respondents (92%) regard exposure to secondhand smoke as harmful – 69% indicated they believe it is very harmful and another 23% indicated that they believe it is somewhat harmful. This dominant opinion of awareness of the harmful effects of secondhand smoke appears to be true across the genders, different age groups, and various education levels, with over 84% of the interviewed residents in each of these factor subgroups reporting that they agree with the harmful effects. Further, it was found that over 77% of the tobacco users report that they agree that secondhand smoke exposure is harmful.

4. The majority of respondents, 72% of those surveyed, favor the year-old smokefree workplace law in New York State, which prohibits smoking in all public and private workplaces, including bars and restaurants, with only 19% of the respondents opposed to the law. Females are most supportive of the law, as are individuals with high levels of formal education, as well as non-tobacco users. Level of support for the law appears to be unrelated to age, the presence of children living in the household, or the race/ethnicity of the resident.

5. A strong message came out of this survey for restaurant owners and county economic planners: 93% of the respondents indicate that either they eat out more often (39%) or that it makes no difference (54%) to them, since smoking was banned in restaurants in July of 2003. With respect to visiting bars, 81% of the respondents indicated that either they visited bars more often (26%) or that the smoking ban makes no difference (55%) to them.

6. Of those Tompkins County residents who had eaten out at a restaurant in the past month, 4% indicated having seen people smoke in the restaurant, while of those who had visited a bar during that same timeframe, 10% indicated having seen people smoke in the bar.

7. The majority of adults, approximately 77% in Tompkins County, report that they do not allow smoking in their homes; similarly, 78% indicate that they do not allow smoking in their cars.

8. The majority of Tompkins County residents are unaware of available tobacco prevention and cessation services with 32% indicating that they had heard of the New York State Smokers’ Quitline, only 15% indicating that they had heard of the Tobacco Control Coalition of Tompkins County, and 21% indicating that they had heard of Reality Check. Individuals from middle income levels and who have children living in their household are most familiar with of the New York State Smokers’ Quitline.

9. Television is the most common medium where residents recall seeing anti-tobacco advertising, and television, radio, and the newspaper are very similar in the rates at which residents most commonly recall having heard of the Tobacco Control Coalition of Tompkins County.

10. Printed media are viewed very commonly by Tompkins County residents; 90% of them report reading newspapers, while 64% report reading the Pennysaver/Pennyshoppers.

11. Among cigarette smokers in Tompkins County, 40% indicated that they are aware of tobacco cessation services provided in Tompkins County, 59% indicate that they have been advised by a health professional to stop smoking within the past year, and 25% reported interest in learning more about tobacco cessation services.

12. It is common that Tompkins County adults have been asked whether or not they smoke by health professionals; 64% indicated that this type of inquiry had been made to them in the past twelve months. Further analysis revealed that the rate at which residents are asked whether they smoke is not significantly correlated with any of age, gender, education level, race/ethnicity, whether or not the person has health insurance coverage, or whether or not the person is a tobacco user.

13. Among Tompkins County smokers, it is common that they have purchased cigarettes at an Indian reservation or Indian enterprise, with 53% of the smokers indicating that they had made these types of purchases throughout the past 12 months. Online tobacco purchases are rather common as well, with 24% of the cigarette smokers reporting having made this type of purchase throughout the past year.

14. The typical Tompkins County resident reports visiting restaurants five times per month and is six times more likely to indicate that The Clean Indoor Air Act will cause him or her to visit restaurants more often than he or she is to indicate that he or she will visit less often (39% vs. 6%). The typical Tompkins County resident reports visiting bars 1-2 times per month and is three times more likely to indicate that The Clean Indoor Air Act will cause him or her to visit bars more often than he or she is to indicate that he or she will visit less often (26% vs. 8%).
 

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