* Results of a new poll on raising the cigarette tax by a buck a pack has generated some coverage…

Of the 502 people surveyed by the Illinois Coalition Against Tobacco, 74 percent said they support raising taxes on cigarettes by $1 — from 98 cents per pack to $1.98 per pack.

Despite the public support, a measure to raise cigarette taxes is about 10 House votes shy of approval, said Rep. Karen Yarbrough, D-Maywood.

* I asked for the toplines and received all but one of them. Check out the “right track/wrong track” numbers when respondents are asked how they “think things in your area of Illinois are generally headed”…

Right Direction 23%
Wrong Track 64
Don’t Know 13

That ain’t great. Sure would like to see the regional crosstabs.

* Next question: “Now, as you may know, Illinois is facing a significant budget deficit, estimated to be over thirteen billion dollars. I’m going to read several options that have been proposed to help address the budget deficit. After each one that I read, please tell me if you would Support or Oppose that option to help reduce the state’s budget deficit…

[Click the pic for a larger image.]

Notice that huge majorities are opposed to service cuts and an income tax hike, but 70 percent say they could back increasing the tobacco tax.

* There ain’t much downside for candidates on this issue, either. Here are the results from a question about whether respondents would be more or less likely “to support candidates for state or local public office in Illinois if you knew that they supported raising the Illinois Cigarette tax by one dollar per pack”…

Much More Likely 15
Somewhat More Likely 14
Somewhat Less Likely 3
Much Less Likely 8
No Difference 58
Don’t Know 2

* And here’s what happened when they were asked how they wanted the money from a new cigarette tax to be spent. Again, click the pic for a larger image…

* Some internals from the cig tax hike question via the pollster’s memo…

• Support for the tax is similar in all areas of the State, including Chicago (76% support), the Cook County suburbs (72% support), the collar counties (75% support), North (74% support) and South (70% support).

• Voters < age 50 (74% support) and age 50+ (73% support) hold similar opinions. This remains consistent among men and women, with a noticeable upward spike in support among women under age fifty (80% support, 70% strongly).

• Support is high among white voters (71%) and minorities (82%).

• Those with college degrees are strongly in favor of the tax (79% support) while support is high among those without degrees (69%). Those making < $75k per year are as supportive as all voters (71%) while those making more than $75k per year are strongly in favor of it (81%).

• Republicans (71% support) and Independent (68%) voters are solidly in favor of the $1 per pack increase, with Democrats even more supportive (81%). This pattern of strong support among partisans remains consistent among liberals (76% support), moderates (79% support) and conservatives (68% support).

• Even four of ten (42%) smokers support the tax. [Emphasis added.]

That last point is kinda fascinating.

* 80 percent said they supported “taxing other tobacco products such as cigars and smokeless, or chew tobacco at comparable rates as cigarettes” and 77 percent said they were concerned “about smoking and other tobacco use among young people in Illinois.

* Methodology…

The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids commissioned the survey. Fako & Associates, Inc., of Lisle, Illinois conducted the survey by telephone on April 5 - 7, 2010 using professional interviewers. F&A interviewed a random sample of 502 registered voters that are likely to vote in the November 2, 2010 General Election in the State of Illinois. A strict screening process was used to ensure that only likely voters in the November 2010 General Election participated in the survey. The interviews lasted an average of 10 minutes. Scientific sampling techniques using a listing of registered voters were used to give all registered voters living in a telephone-equipped household within the State an equal chance of being interviewed. The interviews were conducted in proportion to gender and regional shares of the vote based on past election data and known demographics. Weighting was applied to age to bring this group closer into proportion with known demographics. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 4.32% at the 95% level of confidence. This means that if the survey were replicated the results would be consistent for 95 out of 100 cases. The margin of error is higher among the various sub-groups.

Thoughts?