Albright Karen, Hood Nancy, Ma Ming, Levinson Arnold H
Department of Community and Behavioral Health, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO; Colorado Health Outcomes Program, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, CO;
Community Properties of Ohio (CPO) Management Services, Columbus, OH;
Nicotine Tob Res. 2016 Mar;18(3):371-6. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntv098. Epub 2015 May 8.
Considerable evidence suggests that cigarette smokers are an increasingly marginalized population, involved in fewer organizations and activities and with less interpersonal trust than their nonsmoking counterparts. However, only two previous studies, both among Swedish populations, have investigated smokers' attitudes toward political systems and institutions. The current, cross-sectional study examines smoking in relation to voting, a direct behavioral measure of civic and political engagement that at least partly reflects trust in formal political institutions.
Secondary analyses were conducted of interview data from 11 626 respondents in the Colorado Tobacco Attitudes and Behaviors Survey. Data were collected via telephone between October 2005 and mid-April 2006 and included respondents' reported voting behavior in the 2004 national election; the participation rate was 89.7%. Balanced multiple logistic regression was used to examine associations between smoking and voting while controlling for other covariates known to be associated with both variables.
In the final model, daily smokers were less than half as likely as nonsmokers to report having voted in the election.
The results suggest possible consonance with previous work linking smoking with political mistrust. Possible causal mechanisms are discussed. This study is the first to link a health-risk behavior with electoral participation, and provides initial evidence that smoking is negatively associated with political participation. Future research should investigate how public health might enhance tobacco control efforts by taking nonvoting behavior into consideration, or creatively combining smoking cessation interventions with voter registration and other civic engagement work, particularly among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations.
大量证据表明，吸烟者日益成为边缘化群体，相较于不吸烟者，他们参与的组织和活动较少，人际信任度也较低。然而，此前仅有两项针对瑞典人群的研究调查了吸烟者对政治制度和机构的态度。当前这项横断面研究考察了吸烟与投票之间的关系，投票是公民和政治参与的一项直接行为指标，至少部分反映了对正式政治机构的信任。
对科罗拉多烟草态度与行为调查中11626名受访者的访谈数据进行二次分析。数据于2005年10月至2006年4月中旬通过电话收集，包括受访者报告的2004年全国选举中的投票行为；参与率为89.7%。采用平衡多元逻辑回归分析来检验吸烟与投票之间的关联，同时控制已知与这两个变量都相关的其他协变量。
在最终模型中，每日吸烟者在选举中投票的可能性不到不吸烟者的一半。
研究结果表明可能与之前将吸烟与政治不信任联系起来的研究结果一致。讨论了可能的因果机制。本研究首次将一种健康风险行为与选举参与联系起来，并提供了初步证据表明吸烟与政治参与呈负相关。未来的研究应调查公共卫生如何通过考虑不投票行为来加强烟草控制工作，或者创造性地将戒烟干预措施与选民登记及其他公民参与工作相结合，特别是在社会经济弱势人群中。
