Poll data released today by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky indicate support for a statewide smoke-free law is at its highest point ever. The Kentucky Health Issues Poll (KHIP) found 65 percent of Kentucky adults now support a statewide smoke-free law.

“Support for a smoke-free law has increased consistently since we began polling on this issue in 2010,” stated Susan Zepeda, President/CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. “Our findings reveal the statewide smoke-free issue continues to gain support among Kentuckians of all ages, walks of life, and varying political party affiliations.”

KHIP highlights include:

· More than six in 10 Kentucky adults (65 percent) favor a statewide smoke-free law, up from 59percent in 2012, 54 percent in 2011 and 48 percent in 2010.

· Nearly seven in 10 (69 percent) of those who identified themselves as being a Democrat support a smoke-free law while 64 percent of Republicans and 57 percent of Independents support the measure.

· More than eight in 10 (84 percent) of Kentucky adults who have never smoked support the smoke-free law.

· More than seven in 10 (72 percent) of former smokers want a smoke free law

· Support for a smoke-free law among current smokers is at nearly four in 10 (38 percent), which is up from 17 percent in 2010.

· One third (33 percent) of respondents to the KHIP said they were a current smoker.

The KHIP was funded by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and Interact for Health, formerly the Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati. The poll was conducted October 25, 2013—November 26, 2013, by the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. A random sample of 1,551 adults from throughout Kentucky was interviewed by telephone, including landlines and cell phones. The poll has a margin of error of ±2.3 percent.

About the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky

The Foundation is a non-profit philanthropic organization that invests in communities and informs health policy through grant making, research and education. Since 2001, the Foundation has invested more than $24 million in health policy research and demonstration (pilot project) grants. The Foundation is committed to improving access to care, reducing health risks and disparities and promoting health equity.