Tim McLaughlin
5/6/2010
019:169:002 Introductory Topics Mass Communication
Qingjiang Yao
Group Project
Individual Poll Story
Poll: UI Students Agree with Campus Smoking Ban
More than 70% of students surveyed believe the ban is fair, improves overall health
IOWA CITY, IA—Nearly two years after the University of Iowa implemented a campus-wide smoking ban, UI students say that they “strongly agree” with the ban and are well-aware of it. In a survey conducted by a group in Qingjiang Yao’s 019:169:002 Introductory Topics Mass Communication class, 210 UI students took part in an online survey from April 2 to April 28. The response rate for the survey was 21%, 50% for sampling proportion, 20574 for population and 95% for confidence interval.
One of the questions asked participants whether or not they were aware of the ban and 97% of students responded that they were indeed aware of the ban, while just 3% were unaware of the ban. Similarly, another questions asked participants whether or not they agreed with the ban.
A combination of 17% of participants said that they smoke cigarettes either once per week, twice per week, three times per week, four to six times per week, or every day. This result is contrary to a study analyzed by the group before performing their survey. In a survey done by the State of Texas, 30% of those surveyed said that they smoked in the past 30 days.
“I do not smoke, but I do know about the ban because of the signs on campus and what I see on the news,” said UI senior business major, Anna Ganske.
Asked whether or not they agree with the smoking ban, nearly three fourths of participants responded that they “strongly agree,” while approximately one fourth of participants believed the ban to be unfair. Similarly, a large majority of participants believe that the greatest benefit of the smoking ban is for health purposes. This response is supported by a different study that the group analyzed prior to conducting the UI survey. In a study conducted by the Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association and Journal of the American College of Cardiology, an average of 17% fewer heart attacks occurred in the year after the ban was implemented in American, Canadian, and European cities and in years thereafter, a 26% decrease in heart attacks.
“I think the ban is a good thing here on campus and I believe that the tremendous health benefits that go along with the ban make it necessary,” said Ganske.
