Smokers Are Less Likely To Vote, But Why?

Researchers at the University of Colorado Denver have discovered that smokers are about 60 percent less likely to vote than non-smokers. Findings published in the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research are the first to show a link to between smoking and lower electoral participation.

"One on hand, the result is intuitive. We know from previous research that smokers are an increasingly marginalized population, involved in fewer organizations and activities and with less interpersonal trust than nonsmokers. But what our research suggests is that this marginalization may also extend beyond the interpersonal level to attitudes toward political systems and institutions," Karen Albright, the paper's first author, said in a statement.

For the study, researchers collected and analyzed data from the Colorado Tobacco Attitudes and Behaviors Study (C-TABS), which involved a questionnaire administered by the study's senior author, Arnold Levionson. Over 11,600 people completed it by phone.

However, the study doesn't quite explain why smokers are less likely to vote. One possible explanation is that they may view political institutions as oppressors, given widespread enactment of tobacco taxes and clean indoor air laws. However, the stigma associated with smoking may create social withdrawal or feelings of depression or fatalism among smokers that could decrease the want to vote.