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Smoke Free Mecklenburg BS

Article By Writer Michael Kraft Author: Michael Kraft
Published: May 3, 2007
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Liberal Smoking Ban So I was looking at an article on Creative Loafing and in the Article they published the following line:

“A survey conducted by Smokefree Mecklenburg found 71 percent of Charlotte residents would prefer restaurants to ban smoking.”

So a poll conducted by an organizaqtion called “Smokefree Mecklenburg” found people are against smoking?

Well thats a startling discovery.

If you go in looking for certain results or with obvious bias your results are tainted. Even the pollsters body language, question and verbal inflection can greatly change the results when the pollster is so clearly biased.

So a little more research into this amazing study of public opinion showed the poll questions themselves to be so badly contrived that they would of course get the exact answers they are looking for. Unfortunately for Smoke Free Mecklenburg, I am smarter than their marketing spin is and ill share that truth here.

Now this is a poll from Smokefree Mecklenburg and their president Dr. Michael Sloan. Dr. Sloan didnt expect his readers to be aware of common sense when lokoing at the wording of these LOADED questions.

Question #1: Local Government, such as Mecklenburg County, should have the ability to make its own laws regarding smoking in enclosed public places.

Mecklenburg County: 80.6% Agreed (either strongly or somewhat)
Northern Towns: 82.4% Agreed (either strongly or somewhat)
Southern Towns: 82.9% Agreed (either strongly or somewhat)

That seems like an obvious answer, we all agreee that every region should have its own laws. In a free country and on private property all local laws should come to the same conclusion to, which is choice of the owner.

So question #1 is not related to the issue at all.

Question #2: Do you support or oppose laws that would make offices, restaurants, bars and all other indoor workplaces smoke-free in your local community?

Mecklenburg County: 75.5% Support (either strongly or somewhat)
Northern Towns: 84.2% Support (either strongly or somewhat)
Southern Towns: 75.8% Support (either strongly or somewhat)

Who ever said anything about workplaces? We all agree that “OFFICES” should be smokefree. Who smokes in their office? You will of course get “somewhat” responses even from smokers on this stupid question.

So question #2 inserted offices into the question to get the obvious reaction and response. Still only the non-smokers voted against such a loaded question.

Question #3: All workers deserve the right to work in a smoke-free environment.

Mecklenburg County: 88.4% Agreed (either strongly or somewhat)
Northern Towns: 93.0% Agreed (either strongly or somewhat)
Southern Towns: 88.1% Agreed (either strongly or somewhat)

Again, nobody asks about workplaces. All indoor workplaces should be smokefree. Nobody anywhere is argueing this pointless question.

So question #3 again loaded the question.

Question #4: If all other things were to remain the same, how likely would you be to go to your favorite restaurant or bar if it were to become smoke-free?

Mecklenburg County: 93.7% Were either more likely or equally as likely
Northern Towns: 91.3% Were either more likely or equally as likely
Southern Towns: 96.9% Were either more likely or equally as likely

Another semi-retarded question from the geniuses at Smokefree Mecklenburg. How likely would you be to goto your favorite restaurant or bar? I would assume the loyalty to a favorite place goes beyond the smoking choices. Also keep in mind that perhaps 15-24% of all people polled were likely to be smokers. SO it appears that half of all “smokers” would even dump their favorite restaurant or bar.

Now keep in mind that likely 20-40% of some bars patronage are smokers, they would then lose 10-20% of their business from this change based on the exact response that Smokefree Mecklenburg pretends is in their favor.

Why would this last question even be asked to non-smokers?

Except to try and create an impressive number for the sake of republishing and making empty headed points in debates.

Now they go to great measures to state the poll was conducted by an independent research group. A group that was getting paid by Smoke Free Mecklenburg to provide the poll results.

I will assume any polling firm that pretends to be professionals did not make up these loaded questions.

You can see that I have shown you here 4 of the 5 questions they used in their “scientific” research. These loaded and perfectly phrased questions were guarenteed to give a distorted view.

Keep in mind that “In 1998, about 24% of U.S. adults, an estimated 47.2 million people, were smokers.5 ” From here.

So that means that this question:

“Question #2: Do you support or oppose laws that would make offices, restaurants, bars and all other indoor workplaces smoke-free in your local community?“.

Was just a split on the smokers vs non smokers.

This just proves there are more non smokers in the world. The scientific research of this poll equates to taking a poll on who thinks all “white people” deserve to get new cars for free from the government.

Im guessing that poll would be 50% in favor.

Sorry, Dr. Michael Sloan, stick to medicine because common sense, freedom, personal rights and the intended role of government is too complicated for you.

You dont get to strip rights from Americans because its less popular,
thats the essence of rights.

Perhaps well shall all vote on “reducing all overpaid doctor’s salaries” to 35K per year to help with high medical costs?

3 Responses to “Smoke Free Mecklenburg BS”

lenny on October 23rd, 2007 10:42 pm

This guy is as biased as he says the smoke-free people are. His arguments are even more insane than the smoke-free questions.

Mr. Michael Kraft is the BS-errrr, in this case. I wonder if he’s a smoker?

Where does his anger come from?
Michael Kraft on October 24th, 2007 12:27 am

Biased or correct? Common sense is not bias, freedom is not a bias, its asking a persons right to their own property be respected by the socialist liberals.

If you have a relevent or thought out counterpoint i would love to hear it.
I dont expect one often though since liberals just call names and never provide a point based in common sense.

You have 4 sentences in your post and every one of them is an insult, and not a single one provides a point that would suggest thinking taking place.

And to make you even more wrong, I smoked for 11 years….Marlboro Red 1 pack a day. I quit because I had a baby, cold turkey, never smoked again for 4 years now. Maybe I should start again to pay for the SCHIP program?

So thanks for the assumptions and insults, you just make the leftist’s look more crazy when you speak.
Michael Kraft on October 24th, 2007 12:33 am

And to further show that you missed the entire point (went over your head).

This isnt my story, their own statistics show them to be wrong. Their own statistics prove my point.

I quoted the smoke-free nuts article, I didnt write my own.

““A survey conducted by Smokefree Mecklenburg found 71 percent of Charlotte residents would prefer restaurants to ban smoking.”

“Keep in mind that “In 1998, about 24% of U.S. adults, an estimated 47.2 million people, were smokers”

So their SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH is that non-smokers vote “ban” and smokers vote “no”.

Hardly a discovery as they pretend it is.
Perhaps you should have someone read the rest of the article to you so you get it all.