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Sam Tecca Sarah Einstein English 1510 2 December 2013

Policies and Procedures of a Smoke-Free Campus Cigarettes are everywhere, they are either on the ground or in peoples hands. Every place we walk to we usually see a cigarette in our sight. Wouldnt it be nice though not seeing someone smoking a cigarette or breathing the smoke into our faces? In todays world all people should have the right to breathe in clean air instead of chemicals in cigarettes. This is why many college campuses are relying on tobacco free campuses to prevent this harm and cause to the students. There are now at least 1,127 colleges in the nation that are tobacco free and Ohio University can be part of these colleges by establishing a tobacco free campus (Smoke free 2013). With a tobacco free campus comes with cessation programs, rules and policies that must be enforced and followed. Due to the students exposure to second hand smoke, environmental tobacco smoke, and cigarette butt litter Ohio University would provide a smoke free campus for all students, faculty and visitors. On March 10, 2009 a policy and procedure document here at Ohio University was drafted and approved by Roderick J. Mcdavis displaying rules of how Ohio University would establish a tobacco free campus. On the document here are a few rules that would be enforced. No smoking signs would be posted on every building of Ohio University. An example of a sign would be the symbol picture of a burning cigarette enclosed with a red circle displaying a red cross through it would be posted. All ashtrays throughout campus would be removed. Faculty and students would be informed by signs posted on buildings and vehicles, the policy manual,

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the Ohio University webpage, twitter, Facebook, and student orientation. All students would be responsible for their guests and would have to inform them about the policies and procedures because their guests are part of the law once on the campus. The campus would also prohibit smoking in vehicles that are parked on campus. Lighted matches, chewing tobacco, snuff, cigarettes, e-cigs, or other burning objects wouldnt be allowed on campus either (Adams 2013).
.Breaking

a tobacco policy should be like any other campus policy which means that

there should be fines for breaking the rules. For people caught using tobacco products first offenders would be given a warning, 2nd offenders would be given a fee of $25, and 3rd offenders would be given a fee of $100. All these fines would be charged to the Bursar student account and the money earned would be going towards the student and employee health services which would focus on health promotion and disease prevention from tobacco. Without a clear and defined enforcement plan these actions would be useless (Fennell, 2013) A spot for people to smoke would be court street because that is off campus or anywhere else without no smoking signs. Ohio University would assist employees and students who wish to quit smoking by establishing cessation programs. These programs would help students cut down on tobacco use which would increasingly save their health and money. At the University of Oregon State their cessation program is very successful including visits with a tobacco cessation coach and free nicotine gum or patches. During the visits they discuss nicotine replacement therapy options and dosage, quit date preparation, and post quit strategies (Tobacco Cessation 2013). Ohio University would establish a cessation program very similar helping people with their tobacco problems. Universities arent asking people to quit smoking the policies simply states that you cannot smoke on campus. According to Cleveland State University who is a tobacco free

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campus each year approximately 440,000 people die by diseases caused by smoking which is about one in five deaths in the U.S. Around 44.5 million adults in the United States smoke cigarettes and more than 8.6 million Americans suffer from at least one illness caused by smoking (Tobacco Free Policy FAQs 2013). With the change of habit on campus it will give smokers the opportunity to quit by attending these cessation programs. According to the Saint Cloud University which has become tobacco free in 2012. Within the first six months there was nearly 50% decrease in the number of students who reported exposure to second hand-smoke outside on campus (Tobacco Free 2013). Tobacco industries over decades have been targeting young adults between 18- 24 years of age by marketing and advertising their product. Through recent statistics the tobacco industries are being successful by targeting young adults in college. According to the U.S Surgeon Generals report in 2010, more than 20 million students were enrolled in degree granting institutions (Smoke Free 2013). This doesnt include faculty or visitors on campus either meaning there are many people impacted on campus due to second hand smoke. 24.8% of college students who are full time in the ages of 18-22 years old were current smokers in 2010. The number of smokers who started smoking after the age of 18 increased from 600,000 in 2002 to 1 million in 2010. Establishing a tobacco free campus could cause these numbers to decrease and prevent people from becoming lifelong smokers which could cause young adults to have less serious health problems in the near future. With a tobacco free campus it would be much harder for people to find a place to smoke so it would help limit their smoking use (Smoke Free 2013). A great example of a school who has become tobacco free is UCF which is known as the University of Central Florida. Director of Student Affairs Michael Davis said cancer prevention and health concerns are the main reason for this issue to be passed. A survey done on that

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campus said that 70% favored the passing of it and smokers would feel comfortable if students or faculty asked them to put out their cigarette. To help enforce the ban UCF trained selective individuals who went around monitoring the campus asking individuals to put out their cigarette. They also started a campaign called the Catch your Breath campaign. Just like UCF Ohio University needs to take action by starting a campaign and having students take surveys about how they feel about the issue. It is in Ohio Universitys best interest to become a tobacco free campus because the many benefits such as the safety and health of the students are very important. Even though new laws are always hard to start I think the policies and procedures I explained above are a good starting point for enforcing a tobacco free campus here at Ohio University.

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References Adams, Joe, ed. "Policies and Procedure." Ohio University. N.p., 3 10 2009. Web. 3 Dec 2013. <http://www.ohio.edu/policy/44-113.html>. Fennell, Reginald. Should College Campuses Become Tobacco Free Without an Enforcement Plan? Journal of American College Health 60.7 (2012): 491-494. SPORT Discus with Full Text. Web. 12 Nov. 2013. Smoke free and Tobacco-Free U.S. Colleges and Universities. American Nonsmokers Rights Foundation, 20 Nov 2013. Web. 2 Dec 2013.

"Tobacco Cessation." Oregon State University. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec 2013. <http://studenthealth.oregonstate.edu/node/132>. "Tobacco Free." St Cloud University. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Dec 2013. <http://stcloudstate.edu/tobaccofree/>. "Tobacco Free Policy FAQ's." Cleveland State University Engaged Learning. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Dec 2013. <http://www.csuohio.edu/tobaccofree/faq.html>.