- Mark Dolliver

NEW YORK Whatever qualms they may have about Big Government, people in business are more strongly averse to Big Tobacco. So we can infer, at any rate, from the results of a poll conducted for AdweekMedia among members of LinkedIn.

Participants were asked whether, when it comes to marketing tobacco, the government should ban advertising altogether, regulate it more strictly or leave the rules as is. A majority, 56 percent, said they'd favor an outright ban on tobacco advertising -- a step Congress has shown little if any sign of daring to take. Nineteen percent said they'd like the government to regulate it more strictly, while 23 percent favored leaving the rules as is. (To see the full results of this survey, click here. And to participate in another ad-related LinkedIn poll for AdweekMedia, click here.)

While the poll's younger respondents were less apt than their elders to favor a ban on tobacco advertising, that position still commanded a majority among the 18-24-year-olds (52 percent) and the 25-34-year-olds (53 percent). It also was backed by 61 percent of the 35-54s and the same proportion of those 55 and older. There was just a slight gender gap in the results, with 58 percent of women and 55 percent of men saying the government should ban tobacco advertising altogether.

Though they have their own problems with government regulation, business owners in the poll weren't cutting the tobacco industry any slack: 61 percent said they'd favor a ban on tobacco advertising, with another 13 percent saying the government should regulate it more strictly. Among the poll's "C-level & vp" executives, 62 percent favored an outright ban. There was just a bit less support for such a measure among respondents in "management" posts (57 percent) and those at "all other" job levels (55 percent).

Nor was there much sympathy for Big Tobacco among people whose job function falls into the "marketing" category, as 52 percent of these poll participants said they'd favor a ban on tobacco advertising, with another 18 percent saying the government should regulate it more strictly. Among people in "sales" jobs, 47 percent favored a ban and 24 percent backed stricter regulation. As for people in "creative" positions, 54 percent were pro-ban and another 15 percent favored stricter regulation.