PUBLIC OPINION > Vietnam's Smoking Ban Is a Good Idea
SodaHead News
2012/06/20 16:00:00
Vietnam passed a landmark bill recently banning public smoking completely. Some places in the States have banned smoking in certain public places, like schools and bars -- Vietnam did the same in 2010. But in Vietnam, those limited bans weren't working, and some organizations projected 70,000 deaths per year in the country by 2030. So the country upped the ante and extended the ban. We asked the public if it's a good idea.
There was plenty of opposition, but in the end, most people agreed the ban was acceptable. We wouldn't go so far as to call it a "great" idea, based on results, but it did win a majority vote. There was, of course, plenty of opposition from those suggesting smoking should be a choice, regardless of the consequences. Still, a complete ban would theoretically cut back on annual deaths. That's definitely a plus.
Smokers Say Heck Naw
Since smokers make up approximately 19% of the populations (17% in the context of this poll), we should probably point out the difference in opinion between smokers and nonsmokers. Nearly three-fourths of non-smokers think the ban sounds like a great idea; however, a mere eight percent of smokers agree. If nearly half of Vietnam's male population smokes (currently 47.4%), they'll have a hard time enforcing this law.
Liberals Lay Down the Law
Outside of the smoking demographic, there were a couple of very strong correlations. Politics, for example, brought out a 36% difference in opinion. Only 36% of conservatives felt a complete public smoking ban would be a good idea, while exactly twice the percentage of liberals felt the same. Usually, progressives and libertarians prove to be extremes, but in this case liberals took the strongest approach on the issue.
Older Voters Oppose
There was one demographic that was even more telling than politics: age. The age gap here fell at about 25 years old, where support for the ban more than doubled. Most likely, these are young people who have lost loved ones to cigarettes, or at least people who have heard horror stories. Older voters have no doubt lost loved ones as well, but they've seen the decisions made first-hand, and have perhaps come to believe that those deaths were preventable by the deceased.
If you'd like to vote on this question, dig deeper into the demographics, or engage in existing discussion about the topic, visit our poll about Vietnam's smoking ban. We'd love to hear from you!
What does China have to do with this?
As far as the U.S. goes, I do complain (impotently). About smoking bans, bacon-dog bans, trans-fat bans, etc. I complain about the nanny state because it is an evil usurpation of the individual's self governance.
former smoker: 3 cartons a week non-filters. Super glad able to stop. BUT government has as much business in smoking/non smoking as with consensual sex (here, for me a moral position, same sex activity NOT normal...but that's my moral stance and you take it from there). Bear in mind,please, that it's possible public opinion could change, and non-smokers become more tolerant of this addictive behavior; from my personal standpoint, as noxious as I find the smell-stench- I think of most of the smoking-in-public-ban supporters ( here I specify, certainly not all persons ), most ban-the-butt enthusiasts are self righteous, do it my way or I'll pout, types who, if they could, would ban obesity or goiter or whatever the latest hated behavior may be. (It could be as simple a thing as spelling "behavior" without the letter "u".)
Down with Goiters! AAARGH!