“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.”
Although not certain, it’s believed that smokers are less likely to vote than nonsmokers due to their feelings of mistrust and skepticism of politics in general. With all the smoking laws and tax increases in effect, many smokers feel targeted, isolated and oppressed by society. Of course, as Dr. Albright points out, there is still additional research required:
“We’re getting a clearer picture of the ‘what’ and soon I hope it will be time to talk to individual smokers in these populations to start exploring the ‘why.’”