Have The Winter Blahs? You Aren't Alone.

Ottawa, ON - According to a new Ipsos-Reid survey conducted on behalf of the Florida Department of Citrus, winter seems to be taking its toll on Canadians. Nearly eight in ten Canadians (78%) agree they find it more difficult to feel energized in the winter months than in the summer.

Canadians are most likely to attribute this energy drain to lack of sunshine (38%) and lack of exercise (36%) and, fittingly in the aftermath one of Canada's best ever Winter Olympic Games, a wide majority (89%) of Canadians feel that doing winter sports daily is an effective way to maintain the energy they need to get through the winter months. That said, fewer than half say they have the time and money to do winter sports daily (47%).

Surprisingly, Canadians are much less likely to feel that taking a vacation in Florida is an effective (47%) means of maintaining the energy they need to get through the winter, and, perhaps unsurprisingly, still fewer say they have the time and money to do so (39%).

Drinking a glass of orange juice daily, on the other hand, is seen as effective (68%) and affordable, with nine in ten respondents (90%) saying they have the time and money to do so.

Taking a vitamin C pill daily is also viewed as an effective approach to maintaining the energy one needs to get through the winter months (59% agree), and Canadians say they have the time and money to do so (79%). That said, three in four Canadians (76%) say that drinking orange juice is better for them than taking a vitamin C pill.

Canadians recognize other benefits to drinking orange juice. Six in ten (59%) say that drinking orange juice helps them to fight the winter blahs, while three in four agree that drinking orange juice helps them fight the cold and flu (74%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid/ Florida Department of Citrus poll conducted from February 13th to 18th, 2006. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1000 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 1773.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.

Please open attached files to view full press release and detailed tables.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900
[email protected]

Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader and the country's leading provider of public opinion research. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos-Reid employs more than 300 researcher professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in Canada, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and on-line panels. Ipsos Reid's Canadian marketing research and public affairs practices are staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, offering the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada - including the Ipsos Trend Report, the leading source of public opinion in the country - all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

Ipsos
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Member companies assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media. They measure public opinion around the globe.

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