Raising the Age to Purchase Tobacco is Broadly Popular, Winning Campaign Issue

PHOENIX (May 7, 2018) – New polling from OH Predictive Insights/ABC15 Arizona (OHPI/ABC15) reveals that increasing the legal purchasing age for tobacco holds wide support both overall and across the political spectrum in Arizona.

"Raising the legal age to purchase tobacco is an issue that resonates among likely voters and could play a role in the Arizona Senate race," said Mike Noble, managing partner and chief pollster at OH Predictive Insights.

Based on a 2018 General Election likely voter sample, respondents backed the measure with 53% — majority support — while only 1 in 3 voters (33%) opposed it. The breakdown by ideology shows all political beliefs are behind this measure by a positive margin, with little variance across the board.

The positive split extends to the marquee battleground Senate race as well. The next two charts show the beliefs on raising the purchase age of tobacco by candidate support — for the Republican primary leaders Kelli Ward or Martha McSally when pitted against likely Democratic candidate Kyrsten Sinema.

Both candidates' voters back this measure, and in each case so does a majority of undecided voters, making this a winnable issue that could assist in swaying votes. There is no doubt that increasing the purchase age of tobacco from 18 to 21 is a net positive issue that should be embraced by candidates looking for a message to win over voters from all corners.

Methodology: Telephone survey completed April 10–11, 2018. 2018 General Election likely voter sample. 19% cell phone, 81% landline. Sample size: 600 completed surveys, MoE ±4%.

Media Contact: Tiffany Traver, OH Predictive Insights — [email protected], 602-329-9460