THE "NEW SMOKING SURVEY"

HL Deb 30 March 1981 vol 419 c105WA

Lord Winstanley

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What new information they hope to discover by means of the "New Smoking Survey" currently being carried out by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys, and what will be the total cost to public funds of this exercise.

Lord Cullen of Ashbourne

The aims of the "New Smoking Survey" are to gauge the extent to which attitudes to smoking have changed since a similar national survey was carried out in 1964; to assess the determinants, nature and relative importance of the various beliefs which influence smoking behaviour; to provide information about the effects of price, advertising and health education in shaping attitudes and behaviour; and to explore the factors which bring a smoker to the point of giving up the habit. The estimated cost to public funds of the survey is £245,000.