The 13th World Conference on Tobacco OR Health

Objective: Polling can be a useful tool in tobacco advocacy campaigns. It is also a significant investment for most advocacy groups, so it is important for advocates to evaluate what they need out of their polling before they begin the research process. Some polls are intended for external use – releasing the results to legislators or the press in order to demonstrate support for your issue. Other polls are for internal use only. These polls are often designed to develop messages and a winning strategy. In many cases, however, a single poll is designed to serve multiple purposes. This presentation will help advocates learn how to assess public opinion in order to inform and enhance their policy campaigns.

Methods: An examination of case studies to demonstrate they key uses of polling in tobacco issue campaigns.

Results: The presentation will demonstrate how advocates have used polling to assess public opinion to make decisions about the pursuit of policy change, identify key groups that support or oppose the policy, demonstrate public support to media and legislators, develop message strategies, and garner media attention.