Walking Contradictions? Most Americans support banning cigarettes. In other research most Americans support legalizing marijuana:
Bottom Line: We're all bound to be at least a little conflicted in our beliefs and views along life's journey. In my 20+ years of experience studying research...it's uncommon to have such a potentially blatantly contradictory view as the ones we currently have towards tobacco and marijuana.
Last week I shared Gallup's latest survey work on marijuana. A couple of the highlights included a record percentage of Americans who'd smoked it (45%), do smoke it regularly (12%) and support legalization (60%). On back of that research Gallup is out with it's latest on smoking traditional tobacco. Perhaps ironically, it actually appears as though the average person has a harsher view of the product that's been legal right along.
Gallup found the following:
- 85% view smoking as being very harmful
- 59% view 2nd hand smoke as being very harmful
- 57% would support banning any public use of cigarettes (a record)
Those numbers aren't completely analogous to the marijuana research (Gallup didn't ask if you'd support legal public use of marijuana) but the point I touched on last week seems to be holding true...we see to have warmed up to legal marijuana at a moment in time in which we hold the harshest views we've held regarding tobacco use. I don't know how much of this is pop culture driven as compared to perceived pragmatism but it does seem as though there's a bit of a contradictory message we're sending.