Posted by Todd (216.199.32.16) on January 30, 2000 at 20:26:47:
In Reply to: or, to put it another way posted by gary on January 30, 2000 at 18:39:33:
I should know better, but I cited 46% without first checking the survey....relied on a memory that CRS.
According to our survey, 54% of us admit to smoking. The survey doesn't ask if you USED to smoke, so I presume folks like gary answered 'NO' to that, meaning the actual percentage is higher.
Nonetheless, the latest stats I've seen say that 27% of the US population smokes now. Granted, this is an international board and the percentages are higher in some other countries, but it's still pretty obvious we can out-smoke the Board of Directors of RJ Reynolds.
As for drinking, 26% said No. Again, some of them are probably former drinkers. This is WAY high, not counting Moscow and the Scandanavian countries.
Like it or lump it, we (as a group) are heavy smokers and heavy drinkers. No moral judgement here, just calm observation of the data as it has been presented to us.
Is the survey totally accurate? Nope. Are we sure only clusterheads have filled it out? Nope. Is there any true statistical validity, down to the umpteenth standard deviation and margin of error? Nope.
But I'm just a good ol' country boy who learned early that where there's smoke, you better look for fire or plan on getting a burned butt.
KTSSU,
T