Page 213 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 23 February 1994
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The survey questions regarding a total ban in various areas and freedom of choice were reasonable questions. (Extension of time granted) Thank you, members. If you ask only one question you can get a predictable result. But there was a third question that was not asked, and that was about maintaining the status quo, with the owner making the decision to declare an establishment non-smoking, to allow smoking or to segregate areas in some way. Let me give you the exact questions. The instruction was:
Tick one box only in each section.
The question read:
Should smoking in restaurants -
and there were five choices -
be restricted to a 'smoking' area, with a 'non-smoking' area also required by law?
be determined, one way or the other, by the restaurant owner?
be banned by law?
Mr Moore: Did you rotate the questions?
MR STEVENSON: Mr Moore asks me whether we rotated the questions. The answer is yes, we did, although it makes it much more difficult to count. We also gave two other options.
Mr Lamont: A sequential rotation or a random rotation?
MR STEVENSON: It was a random rotation. The two other options were "Not enough information to make a decision" and "Not concerned about the issue". That is better than simply asking, "Are you an idiot?" or giving an option to say, "Don't know". It gives people an opportunity to express a reasonable viewpoint.
As I said, the exact same questions were asked in respect of clubs. As well as asking, "Should smoking in restaurants" and giving the five choices, we asked, "Should smoking in clubs" and gave the same five choices. Then we asked, "Are you a smoker?", to be answered yes or no. Respondents were also invited to write comments on the back. Some interesting comments indeed were written on the back.
Mr Lamont: Can I seek to have you table those responses?
MR STEVENSON: Mr Lamont asks whether he can seek to have me table those responses. They are only brief and I will be happy to do that.
Mr Lamont: No; the stuff on the back.
MR STEVENSON: Oh, those responses. Let us have a look at what the actual results were. Forty-five per cent favoured the designation of separate smoking areas in restaurants - and I did use the term "by law".
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