June 13, 2012 - Older Voters Tip New York City Glass Against Soda Ban, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Bloomberg Gets Mixed Grades On Health Issues Word format With age, education and gender gaps, New York City voters oppose 51 - 46 percent Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposed ban on the sale of over-sized sugary soft drinks, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Men oppose the ban 55 - 41 percent while women support it by a slim 50 - 47 percent margin, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. Voters under 35 years old are divided with 49 percent in support and 46 percent opposed; voters 35 - 49 years old split 50 - 49 percent. Voters 50 to 64 years old are opposed 57 - 42 percent and voters over 65 are opposed 51 - 43 percent. Voters with college degrees are split 48 - 49 percent while voters without degrees are opposed 53 - 43 percent. Opposition is 56 - 41 percent among white voters and 53 - 44 percent among black voters while Hispanic voters support the soda ban 52 - 44 percent. Manhattan voters support the soda ban 55 - 41 percent while opposition in the other boroughs ranges from 52 - 45 percent in Brooklyn to 65 - 32 percent in Staten Island. New York City voters say 56 - 39 percent that the proposed soda ban would not be effective in reducing obesity rates. Voters are divided 43 - 43 percent on whether the soda ban is "Nanny Government," but say by a slim margin, 50 - 46 percent, that government should not be involved in people's eating and drinking habits. "Is he your mayor or your nanny? New Yorkers are not swallowing Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposed curb on big buckets of soda. But - wait just a minute - they are evenly divided on whether it amounts to 'Nanny Government,'" said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Anyhow, they doubt that a soda ban would do much to slim down public obesity." New York City voters approve 50 - 39 percent of the job Mayor Bloomberg is doing, little changed from the mayor's 49 - 42 percent score May 10. Bloomberg gets a split 47 - 45 percent approval for the way he is handling public health. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn gets a 55 - 24 percent approval rating, little changed from her 57 - 23 percent score May 10. Voters approve 39 - 17 percent of the job Public Advocate Bill de Blasio is doing, down from 48 - 13 percent May 10. City Comptroller John Liu gets a 40 - 32 percent job approval rating, unchanged from May 10. "While the soda ban goes flat with New York City voters, the glass is half full - or half empty - for Mayor Mike. Voters are evenly divided on his overall efforts to make us healthier," Carroll said. "Bloomberg's overall job approval is still positive, but with less than the sky-high numbers of his second term. "The voters give Council Speaker Christine Quinn a good approval rating, but no wedding present, as she's had slightly higher scores. "Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, who's warring with Mayor Bloomberg, especially over outer-borough taxis, has lost ground with the voters." From June 6 - 11, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,093 New York City voters with a margin of error of +/- 3 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 1. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Michael Bloomberg is handling his job as Mayor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve 50% 46% 49% 55% 53% 47% 57% 39% 50% Disapprove 39 44 42 31 37 40 34 46 40 DK/NA 11 11 9 14 10 13 9 16 10 COLLEGE DEG AGE IN YEARS............ Yes No 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Approve 54% 44% 51% 48% 46% 52% Disapprove 37 41 38 44 43 36 DK/NA 9 15 11 8 11 12 Union HAVE KIDS...... Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds <18 InPubSch Approve 52% 45% 58% 46% 46% 39% 53% 48% Disapprove 37 42 31 44 43 48 34 38 DK/NA 11 14 11 10 11 13 13 13 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Michael Bloomberg is handling his job as Mayor? (*High also 75% Oct 3 2008, Mar 2008, Jan 2007 & Nov 2005) APPROVE....... High Low Jun 13 May 10 Mar 13 Feb 08 Dec 14 Oct 21 Jul 02 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2008* 2003 Approve 50 49 54 46 49 75 31 Disapprove 39 42 35 42 42 20 60 DK/NA 11 10 11 12 9 6 8 4. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bill de Blasio is handling his job as Public Advocate? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve 39% 31% 45% 35% 39% 39% 38% 44% 38% Disapprove 17 24 13 21 18 16 12 18 18 DK/NA 44 45 41 44 43 45 50 38 44 COLLEGE DEG AGE IN YEARS............ Yes No 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Approve 40% 39% 35% 43% 45% 37% Disapprove 16 19 17 17 21 11 DK/NA 45 43 47 39 34 51 Union HAVE KIDS...... Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds <18 InPubSch Approve 43% 42% 34% 38% 42% 41% 34% 33% Disapprove 19 13 15 22 19 19 19 23 DK/NA 38 45 51 40 39 40 47 44 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Bill de Blasio is handling his job as Public Advocate? APPROVE....... High Low Jun 13 May 10 Mar 13 Feb 08 Dec 15 May 10 May 21 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2012 2010 Approve 39 48 42 42 41 48 34 Disapprove 17 13 17 18 18 13 16 DK/NA 44 39 41 40 41 39 50 5. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Christine Quinn is handling her job as City Council Speaker? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve 55% 44% 63% 50% 53% 58% 53% 61% 56% Disapprove 24 37 18 27 28 20 26 16 22 DK/NA 21 19 18 23 19 22 21 23 22 COLLEGE DEG AGE IN YEARS............ Yes No 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Approve 56% 54% 56% 59% 56% 54% Disapprove 27 21 18 26 27 28 DK/NA 17 25 26 15 17 18 Union HAVE KIDS...... Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds <18 InPubSch Approve 63% 52% 54% 54% 61% 54% 55% 58% Disapprove 19 23 23 29 23 30 21 21 DK/NA 18 25 23 17 16 16 23 21 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Christine Quinn is handling her job as City Council Speaker? APPROVE....... High Low Jun 13 May 10 Mar 13 Feb 08 Dec 15 Mar 13 Nov 25 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2012 2008 Approve 55 57 59 53 55 59 40 Disapprove 24 23 20 23 24 20 29 DK/NA 21 20 21 23 21 21 31 6. Do you approve or disapprove of the way John Liu is handling his job as City Comptroller? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve 40% 39% 45% 31% 44% 36% 29% 55% 39% Disapprove 32 41 29 38 32 32 43 22 23 DK/NA 28 20 27 31 24 31 28 22 38 COLLEGE DEG AGE IN YEARS............ Yes No 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Approve 36% 45% 46% 35% 44% 34% Disapprove 38 24 26 45 31 34 DK/NA 25 31 28 20 25 32 Union HAVE KIDS...... Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds <18 InPubSch Approve 41% 41% 31% 49% 35% 45% 43% 45% Disapprove 20 31 40 32 36 33 31 30 DK/NA 39 28 29 18 29 22 26 25 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way John Liu is handling his job as City Comptroller? APPROVE....... High Low Jun 13 May 10 Mar 13 Feb 08 Dec 15 May 11 Dec 15 2012 2012 2012 2012 2011 2011 2011 Approve 40 41 40 40 38 57 38 Disapprove 32 32 37 29 35 14 35 DK/NA 28 27 23 31 27 30 27 7. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Michael Bloomberg is handling public health issues in New York City? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve 47% 39% 51% 51% 52% 43% 54% 42% 42% Disapprove 45 55 43 43 40 50 38 51 51 DK/NA 8 6 6 6 8 7 7 6 7 COLLEGE DEG AGE IN YEARS............ Yes No 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Approve 52% 41% 49% 49% 44% 50% Disapprove 41 51 47 44 51 38 DK/NA 8 7 4 7 5 12 Union HAVE KIDS...... Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds <18 InPubSch Approve 43% 44% 56% 46% 47% 43% 50% 51% Disapprove 47 50 36 46 48 49 44 42 DK/NA 10 6 8 8 4 8 6 8 8. As you may know, Mayor Bloomberg has a plan to ban large servings of soda and sugary drinks in an effort to help fight obesity in New York City. Bloomberg's proposal would prohibit the sale of soda and other sweetened drinks in containers larger than 16 ounces that are sold in places regulated by the city's health department like restaurants, movies theaters, and food carts. Do you support or oppose Bloomberg's plan? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Support 46% 31% 51% 43% 41% 50% 41% 44% 52% Oppose 51 69 46 52 55 47 56 53 44 DK/NA 4 - 3 5 4 3 3 3 4 COLLEGE DEG AGE IN YEARS............ Yes No 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Support 48% 43% 49% 50% 42% 43% Oppose 49 53 46 49 57 51 DK/NA 3 3 4 2 1 6 Union HAVE KIDS...... Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds <18 InPubSch Support 41% 45% 55% 44% 32% 38% 49% 45% Oppose 53 52 41 53 65 58 48 52 DK/NA 5 2 4 3 3 4 2 4 9. Do you think a ban on large sizes of sugary drinks would be effective in reducing New York City's obesity rate, or don't you think so? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 39% 26% 43% 38% 39% 40% 37% 37% 41% No 56 70 53 57 56 56 59 59 53 DK/NA 5 4 4 5 5 4 5 4 6 COLLEGE DEG AGE IN YEARS............ Yes No 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Yes 41% 37% 41% 39% 38% 40% No 55 58 53 58 61 53 DK/NA 4 5 6 3 2 7 Union HAVE KIDS...... Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds <18 InPubSch Yes 41% 37% 44% 39% 30% 32% 47% 44% No 53 57 50 60 67 62 50 53 DK/NA 6 7 5 1 2 6 3 3 10. Do you think the government should be getting involved in people's eating and drinking habits to fight obesity, or do you think the government shouldn't be getting involved in these things? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Gov shld be involved 46% 30% 51% 44% 44% 48% 45% 42% 52% Gov shld't be invld 50 69 44 55 52 48 52 54 44 DK/NA 4 1 5 2 3 4 3 4 4 COLLEGE DEG AGE IN YEARS............ Yes No 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Gov shld be involved 50% 41% 51% 49% 46% 39% Gov shld't be invld 46 56 46 47 52 56 DK/NA 4 3 3 4 2 4 Union HAVE KIDS...... Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds <18 InPubSch Gov shld be involved 45% 46% 57% 43% 22% 46% 50% 48% Gov shld't be invld 50 51 38 53 77 49 47 47 DK/NA 5 3 4 4 1 6 3 5 11. Would you describe Mayor Bloomberg's plan as an example of "Nanny Government" or wouldn't you describe it this way? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 43% 59% 40% 44% 44% 42% 46% 38% 40% No 43 35 47 40 43 43 42 45 45 DK/NA 14 6 13 16 13 15 12 17 15 COLLEGE DEG AGE IN YEARS............ Yes No 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Yes 42% 44% 47% 40% 49% 38% No 46 38 43 48 39 43 DK/NA 12 18 10 12 13 18 Union HAVE KIDS...... Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds <18 InPubSch Yes 39% 47% 33% 49% 45% 48% 40% 40% No 44 40 51 37 43 40 46 48 DK/NA 17 13 16 14 12 13 14 12 12. Which would you say that you drink more often diet soft drinks or regular, non-diet soft drinks? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Diet 26% 24% 29% 22% 28% 23% 35% 15% 19% Regular, non-diet 31 39 29 30 34 28 22 44 35 DK/NA 44 37 42 48 38 49 44 40 45 COLLEGE DEG AGE IN YEARS............ Yes No 18-34 35-49 50-64 65+ Diet 30% 21% 25% 26% 27% 28% Regular, non-diet 25 39 47 30 25 20 DK/NA 45 41 28 44 48 52 Union HAVE KIDS...... Brnx Kngs Man Qns StIsl HsHlds <18 InPubSch Diet 19% 24% 33% 22% 37% 27% 25% 16% Regular, non-diet 35 33 23 31 38 22 34 40 DK/NA 46 43 44 47 24 52 41 44 Demographic Summary
