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Smoking vote topic of survey Some see tobacco firms� hand in polling By Bill Kettler If you vote in Central Point, somebody wants to know how you feel about smoking. A Portland market research company has been asking Central Point residents how they�ll vote in the referendum on the city�s tough anti-smoking ordinance. The company that conducted the survey, Moore Information, won�t disclose who commissioned the survey, but anti-smoking advocates say big tobacco companies often work behind the scenes to influence voters when smoking becomes a political issue. More polls could be on the way, along with direct-mail advertising, says Tim Filler of Americans for Nonsmokers� Rights. "The tobacco industry does polling in local elections to find out how to manipulate the voters to do what they want them to do," said Filler. He noted that tobacco companies have spent time and money to influence local elections from Maine to Wyoming. Ballots were mailed Friday to registered Central Point voters, who will decide the fate of a city ordinance that prohibits smoking in most public places, including restaurants. Bars are exempt. The City Council adopted the ordinance in January, but opponents gathered enough signatures to put it up for a vote. Kelly Middendorff, vice president of Moore Information, declined to disclose any details about the poll, such as the questions that were asked or how many people were surveyed. Pollsters rarely disclose information about their work to hide the identity of their clients. Michelle Christensen, who participated in the poll, said she spent at least five minutes on the phone with a very polite woman. The interviewer asked her whether she smoked and posed questions about her attitude about smoking. There were also more general questions about governments� role in regulating businesses. "She asked if the city council should be able to tell bar owners how to run their business, or if businesses should be able to make their own decisions," said Christensen, who serves as co-chair of Tobacco Free Jackson County. Though the pollster didn�t ask her outright, Christensen said, it was clear "they wanted to know if I was going to vote for the (anti-smoking) ordinance." A spokesman for the National Smokers Alliance said the organization did not commission the poll, but it has contributed $2,500 to the campaign to rescind Central Point�s anti-smoking ordinance. "We believe individual business owners ought to be able to serve their customers as they choose, not as imposed by government," said Tom Humber, president of the Virginia-based organization. Whoever commissioned the Central Point poll could have designed the questions to lead voters to reconsider their position, said Filler. He said "push polls" are designed not to find out what people think, but to advocate for one side�s position. Filler said Central Point voters could see more polls or even direct-mail advertising before Sept. 19, when their ballots must be returned to the Jackson County Courthouse. He said voters in Casper, Wyo., were polled three times prior to a May 16 referendum on an anti-smoking ordinance. Four mass mailings were also sent to registered voters, encouraging them to oppose the ordinance, which banned smoking in restaurants, but not bars. Tobacco interests from outside Wyoming provided 90 percent of the funding for the campaign that eventually rescinded the anti-smoking ordinance, said Jan Drury of the Casper chapter of the American Cancer Society. "They were very skilled at turning the issue one way," Drury said. "Folks need to understand that the tobacco industry is in their community and will spend whatever it takes to get done what they need to get done." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA