Councilor Walker Garrett calls Breathe Easy smoking poll very unreliable

A poll taken by a group trying to ban smoking in Columbus has at least one city councilor deeply concerned about the results.

“I don’t think it’s very reliable,” said Councilor Walker Garrett during an interview with the Ledger-Enquirer on Friday. “The questions are just way too leading.”

The questions in the poll were stated as follows:

• Generally speaking, would you support or oppose a city ordinance to prevent smoking in many public places where children, families or employees have to inhale second-hand smoke? (Results: 69.3 generally support, 30.7 generally oppose)
• Second-hand smoke causes heart disease. Should employees be protected from exposure to second-hand smoke while on the job? (Results: 83 percent yes, 19 percent no)
• Should employees in bars be forced to inhale second-hand smoke as a condition of employment. (Results: 69.6 percent no, 30.4 percent yes)
• Now, with some of these points considered, would you generally support or oppose a city ordinance to prevent smoking in most public places where children, families or employees have to inhale second-hand smoke? (Results: 69.8 percent generally support, 30.2 percent generally oppose)
• If a smoke-free ordinance is enacted, would you be more or less likely to support city council members who voted for it? (71.7 percent more likely to support, 28.3 less likely to support)

The poll was conducted by Landmark Communications Inc., a full-service political advertising and consulting firm based in metro Atlanta, according to its website. In a May 31 executive summary to Mayor Teresa Tomlinson and Columbus Council, the company’s president Mark Rountree, wrote: “Landmark Communications conducted a poll of Columbus/Muscogee County, GA for the American Heart Association to determine public opinion of a proposed smoke-free ordinance in the city. 403 interviews were conducted with registered voters. The survey has a standard 4.90% margin of error.”

Earlier this week, Breathe Easy and the American Heart Association distributed the results of the survey to local media. The release stated that 69 percent of Columbus voters support a city ordinance to prevent smoking in public places and 83 percent believe employees should be protected from exposure to second-hand smoke while on the job. Seventy-two percent stated that they would be more likely to support an elected official who voted for a smoke-free ordinance.

But Garrett said that’s not what he’s hearing among his constituents, many of whom oppose the comprehensive smoke-free ordinance that Breathe Easy Columbus supports. In March, Council extended the first reading of the ordinance for 60 days, after hearing from people on both sides of the issue. At the time, Garrett and other councilors recommended some changes that would make the ordinance less restrictive.

“I can tell you, just from a sense in the community, everybody that I talk to — when they know exactly the full story — they’re very much opposed to it,” he said. “... I’m talking about people who are smokers and non-smokers alike. They don’t like the idea of the government telling them what they can and cannot do in their private businesses.

“We’re already shifting to a non-smoking environment,” he said. “I don’t go to a lot of the bars that allow smoking, because I don’t want to smell like smoke. At the same time, there are people who do want to smoke.”

Garrett said he was particularly concerned about the poll questions using the word “public” and not “private” when referring to bars and other establishments. He also didn’t like the question that referred to forcing employees to inhale second-hand smoke as a condition for employment.

“I mean, I think that’s kind of worded to play on people’s emotions,” he said.

On Friday, the Ledger-Enquirer tried to reach representatives from Breathe Easy Columbus. Jamie Austin, the organization’s chair, responded by text, referring the newspaper to Michael Cortes, government relations director for the American Heart Association, a national partner of the Breathe Easy Coalition.

When contacted by the Ledger, Cortes said he would try to reach the president of Landmark Communications to explain how the poll was conducted.

“I can’t speak to whether the questions are leading or not,” Cortes said. “It’s not my profession.”

In a call to the Ledger-Enquirer, Rountree, president of Landmark Communications, said he stands by the poll.

“It’s a very reliable poll,” he said. “... There are people that would not understand or know about the issue being raised. The questions simply provided context.”

Garrett said he ran for council because he wanted to see less government regulation, not more.

“Just to be clear, I’m OK with us not having smoking where you’re going to have to walk through it, like on a sidewalk,” he said. “... But I can make a decision if I want to go into the 18th Amendment Cigar Bar or whether I want to go to The Loft where it’s smoke free. And that’s a choice I think we should leave to the citizens.”

He said he made an amendment to the ordinance that exempted bars and gave them enough time to install ventilation systems that are required.

“The feeling we’ve gotten from the smoke-free ordinance supporters is that they want their ordinance 100 percent, or they want nothing at all,” he said. “They’re not willing to compromise.”

This story was originally published June 2, 2017 at 11:40 AM with the headline "Councilor Walker Garrett calls Breathe Easy smoking poll very unreliable."