Most of Russians assess positively the new regulations concerning the tobacco law; however every second does not believe that these measures will reduce smoking in Russia.
MOSCOW, July 15, 2014. Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM) presents the data concerning how well Russians are aware of the new regulations concerning the anti-tobacco law; what measures they support; and whether these measures can make Russians smoke less or not.
Most of Russians are aware of the measures that came into force on June 1 this year to limit cigarette smoking (90%): 58% of Russians know about that; 32% heard about that but do not know any details. Those who are most informed are men (64%) and active Internet users (68%).
The regulation that most of Russians are aware of is the ban to smoke in public places; 75% of those who heard about the law know about this provision. Other measures were mentioned rarely: fourteen percent are aware of the ban of tobacco advertising and display of cigarettes in retail outlets; less Russians (7%) mentioned the limitation of tobacco selling. Six percent support the idea to impose fines for violating this law.
Ban on smoking in public places (restaurants, hotels, trains, et cet.) is the most popular measure that Russians support; it is assessed positively by 74% of respondents. Sixty-seven percent approve of displaying packs of cigarettes in the store windows; this share has increased since the new measure was announced (from 59% in 2013). Two-thirds (65%) say that cigarettes can only be sold at stores (vs 60% in 2013). Those who support all regulations are mainly women, elderly respondents and residents of big and million cities.
At the same time, half of Russians do not believe that all these measures will be effective: 56% of respondents say that the measures will not reduce smoking in Russia. Those who think so are men (63%), 18-24-year-old Russians (63%), and supporters of LDPR (71%). They are opposed by 35% of respondents who are mainly respondents with higher education diplomas (41%), with good income (42%), being Muscovites and St.Petersburgians (42%).
The VCIOM opinion poll was conducted on July 5-6, 2014. 1600 respondents were interviewed in 130 communities in 42 regions of Russia. Data are weighted by gender, age, education, working status and type of settlement. The margin of error does not exceed 3.4%.
Do you know that on June 1 new regulations concerning the anti-smoking law came into force ? (closed-ended question, one answer) | ||||
| Total | Those who use the Internet actively every day | Those who use the Internet several times per week/per month | Those who use the Internet from time to time or who do not use the Internet |
I know well | 58 | 65 | 52 | 49 |
I heard something about it | 32 | 28 | 39 | 36 |
This is the first time I hear about it | 9 | 6 | 9 | 14 |
Don`t know | 1 | <1 | 1 | 1 |
What regulations of the anti-smoking law did you hear about? (open-ended question, not more than 5 answers, % of those who heard about the new regulations of the law ) | |
Total | |
Ban on smoking in public places | 75 |
Ban of advertising/retail cigarette display | 14 |
Restrictions on selling tobacco products (sale in designated places) | 7 |
Imposing penalties for violating the law | 6 |
Increase of prices for tobacco products | 3 |
Smoking only in special zones | 3 |
Ban on selling tobacco products to people under the age of 18 | 1 |
Other | 1 |
None | 11 |
Which of the following new regulations do you support? Ban on smoking in bars, restaurants, cafes, trains, long distance ships, dormitories and hotels, train platforms (closed-ended question, one answer) | |||
| Total | Men | Women |
Rather support | 74 | 64 | 82 |
Rather not support | 23 | 32 | 15 |
Don`t know | 3 | 3 | 3 |
Which of the following new regulations do you support? Ban of retail cigarette display. A customer can choose cigarettes from the catalog (closed-ended question, one answer) | ||
| 02.2013 | 07.2014 |
Rather support | 59 | 67 |
Rather not support | 35 | 28 |
Don`t know | 6 | 5 |
Which of the following new regulations do you support? Ban on selling cigarettes in kiosks (cigarettes can be purchased at stores and malls) except for rural area where there are no stores and malls (closed-ended question, one answer) | ||
| 02.2013 | 07.2014 |
Rather support | 60 | 65 |
Rather not support | 35 | 29 |
Don`t know | 5 | 6 |
In your opinion, will the tobacco regulations that came into force on June 1 reduce smoking in Russia? (closed-ended question, one answer) | |||||||
| Total | Moscow and St.Petersburg | Million cities | More than 500 ths | 100–500 ths | Less than 100 ths | Rural area |
Rather yes | 35 | 42 | 32 | 40 | 27 | 37 | 33 |
Rather no | 56 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 67 | 53 | 58 |
Don`t know | 9 | 9 | 18 | 9 | 6 | 9 | 9 |
Note: Using materials from the site www.wciom.ru or wciom.com, as well as distributed by VCIOM, the reference to the source (or hyperlink for the electronic media) is obligatory!