Anchor knows who smokes
(Chris Goodney - BLOOMBERG)
Say what you will about Fox News’s Megyn Kelly — she sure has a strong grasp on information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on smoking rates by occupation in the United States. On Tuesday, Kelly interviewed the fellow in the much-remarked-about Herman Cain campaign ad. That would be Mark Block, who puffed a cigarette during the climactic moment of the campaign pitch.
In the Fox News segment above, Kelly probes Block on the ad. Block notes that he doesn’t encourage anyone to smoke. Then Kelly uncorks the most historic string of words ever uttered on TV news. Here it is:
“Were you trying to appeal to, you know, folks who are out there, you know, living real lives, working the farm, working in Detroit — you know, that kind of thing, as opposed to the East and West Coast elite, people in media circles who shun smoking? And you know, sort of real American things?”
With that, Kelly, in keeping with her high position at America’s winner in cable news, showed great off-the-cuff sophistication on smoking demographics. Farmers, fisherpeople and foresters, as it turns out, have a relatively high occupational rate of smoking — certainly much higher than media elites who appear on TV and stay away from cigarettes.
Americanness as Measured by Occupation’s Devotion to Smoking, Per Fox News’s Megyn Kelly. Statistics from the CDC.
Real American Occupations Smoking Rate
Construction/extraction 31 percent
Food prep./service 30
Transportation and related 29
Installation/repair/maintenance 27
Production 26
Health-care support 24
Building/grounds cleaning 23
Sales and related 21
Farming, fishing, forestry 20
Personal care/service 20
Unamerican Occupations Smoking Rate
Office/administrative support 19 percent
Protective Service 16
Management 16
Arts, design, sports, media, entertainment 15
Business and financial operations 14
Architecture and engineering 14
Computer and mathematical 13
Health-care practitioners and technical 12
Community and social services 11
Legal 10
Life, physical, social science 9
Education, training, and library 9
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