Smoking survey results should be questioned

Anything that helps lower the number of smokers in the state, whether it be public service announcements that actually work or rising costs preventing people from buying more cigarettes, is commendable.

So a recent study by the UK College of Nursing that reported an 11 percent drop in college smokers since 1990 is a great step. But in a state where tobacco has been part of a triumvirate of vices, any reported decline in smoking should be further reviewed.

In a Nov. 7 article, many students pointed to higher costs in other areas of life as a potential reason for not smoking. Other students just expressed the need to become a lot thriftier when it comes to buying cigarettes.

“I can’t afford to smoke,” Charlie Lockhart, a music performance junior, said to the Kernel. “Smoking’s not a necessity.”

Lockhart is exactly right; smoking is not a necessity for many, despite what they actually think. But the recent report is questionable.

First, when the survey was last taken in 2004, 900 people were surveyed. For the most recent round of surveying during spring of this year, less than 500 people where questioned.

Four hundred people could be a very reasonable explanation for an 11 percent drop, more so than crunched budgets and smoke-free environments.  People who smoke, not just the “weekend warriors” or students who casually smoke, can’t just quit the habit. Everyone has that family member who has used the patch, the gum and just plain willpower.

Chances are they might still smoke. And budget cuts won’t help that matter, but instead probably increase it. There are few things that would facilitate a much-needed cigarette more than realizing rent is due and your credit card bill came in the mail.

Maybe 11 percent of students did stop smoking. If so, congratulations and let’s push that number down another 11 percent. But before any celebration is started, let’s survey the same amount of people at the same time of the year, maybe more. Follow around the same group of smokers and non-smokers and see who quits.

It doesn’t take a statistics whiz to see the data could be skewed. Maybe in 2004, a lot of upperclassmen smoked. Now, with those students gone, a new batch of students decided cigarettes aren’t for them. Wide ranges of variables are in play when it comes to this study.

Not to rain on anyone’s parade, because it’s awfully hard to light up in a downpour, but with Kentucky’s history and the current economic atmosphere, anyone who says that the number of people who smoke has decreased should expect to draw skepticism.