Americans' Respect for Smokers Erodes

Guy smoking a cigarette — (Image credit: Morguefile)

Americans seem to have less respect for smokers compared with those who don't smoke, a new Gallup survey suggests, also finding that 12 percent of U.S. adults turn their noses up at overweight people, too.

While two decades ago, between 14 percent and 17 percent of Americans reported having less respect for a person who smokes, the recent survey found that number grew to 25 percent. The growth of the nonsmoking population may partly explain the trend, Gallup researchers noted. The percentage of adult smokers dropped from 27 percent in 1991 to today's 22 percent, Gallup found.

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Americans may feel less bias toward overweight people than toward smokers because obesity is far more prevalent in society, the researchers speculate. Forty-two percent of respondents in the Gallup poll described themselves as overweight, with 6 percent saying they are very overweight. Even if Americans are not overweight themselves, most are likely to have relatives, coworkers, or close friends who are overweight, which may increase their compassion for the condition, according to Gallup. [10 Easy Paths to Self Destruction]

Past research has suggested social stigma can exacerbate physical decline in obese people. A study published in the March 2011 issue of the journal Social Psychology Quarterlyfound that the moderately obese participants who reported being discriminated against showed a greater physical decline over time, measured by their ability to perform everyday tasks, than did the severely obese, who didn't report discrimination.

Jeanna Bryner is managing editor of Scientific American. Previously she was editor in chief of Live Science and, prior to that, an editor at Scholastic's Science World magazine. Bryner has an English degree from Salisbury University, a master's degree in biogeochemistry and environmental sciences from the University of Maryland and a graduate science journalism degree from New York University. She has worked as a biologist in Florida, where she monitored wetlands and did field surveys for endangered species, including the gorgeous Florida Scrub Jay. She also received an ocean sciences journalism fellowship from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. She is a firm believer that science is for everyone and that just about everything can be viewed through the lens of science.