According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cigarette smoking is the leading preventable cause of death; nearly 5 million deaths result per year from the use of tobacco.
These facts and many others have prompted Dr. Rebecca Olsen’s Health Promotion class (HSC 445) to take a look at the possibility of The University of Tampa becoming a smoke-free campus.
“It’s right in line with what public health people do,” Olsen, assistant professor of exercise science and sport studies said. “We would naturally be in support of something like this.”
Smoking is a major cause of multiple cancers and long term negative health effects.
Olsen and her class would like to see the health of the community improve.
The course has a total of six students split into two groups.
Each group has a different project but all students will participate in both.
According to Olsen, the first group is the Management and Leadership Group which will build a collaborative task force with local officials to help support a smoke-free policy.
The group will also analyze the current UT Smoking Policy to see if the students know about the policy and how they enforce it, if at all.
Through interviews, the group will also try to answer questions such as, “Have they ever tried to quit?” and “Why do students smoke?” Another aspect of the group is to assess the attitudes and behaviors of tobacco use and second-hand smoke.
“We want to test the water to see where we are as a community,” Olsen said.
The second group, named the Health Promotion Group will look at what can be done to implement ways to prevent someone from using tobacco, smoking cessation and reduction of second-hand smoke on campus.
This group will create six smoking reduction logos and see which logo and messages make the most impact.
Olsen said the main focus of the project would ask “How ready are we to change?”
She said her class was thrilled to raise awareness .
By the end of the course, students will be certified as Smoke Cessation Health Educators.
Utilizing their training, the class plans to go to high schools to make students aware of the dangers of tobacco use and to prevent its eventual use.
UT students will also collaborate with USF, which has a smoke cessation grant.
Students will have the opportunity to present work at the International Social Marketing Conference in Clearwater.
Tobacco-Free Schools and Breath Easy Zones
There are 133 tobacco-free schools in the United States, meaning that smoking and all forms of tobacco use anywhere on campus is not allowed.
Grades have improved and enrollment has increased at these schools, showing promising results for any institutions of higher education which would like to implement these policies.
In Iowa, the state has required all college and universities to be smoke-free.
Currently, no colleges or universities in Florida are completely smoke-free.
However, some colleges like the Sarasota Campus of the University of South Florida as well as New College of Florida, also in Sarasota have implemented “Breathe Easy Zones.”
These zones comprise of an area from 20 to 50 feet surrounding a building where smoking is not allowed.
This is one option that Olsen’s class may consider when making recommendations.
In early September, the American College Health Association released their position on tobacco use on college and university campuses by taking on a no tobacco use policy.
This policy wants all institutions of higher education to push for a “100 percent indoor and outdoor campus-wide tobacco-free environment.”
UT’s Current Policy
Effective Jan. 1, 2003, UT put a Smoke-Free policy in place. Dr. Olsen’s class will analyze the current policies.
The policy applies to all students, staff, faculty and visitors, prohibiting the use of all tobacco products.
Cigarettes, cigars and other tobacco products in University buildings including offices, corridors, areas surrounding outside fresh air intake, stairwells, hallways, fire escapes, University owned vehicles, indoor or outdoor athletic events and during other University sponsored indoor or outdoor events are prohibited except in designated areas.
These areas, according to the policy are marked as “Smoking Permitted.”
Otherwise, the policy states that smoking is allowed outdoors unless during an event designated otherwise.
Members of the community who choose to smoke must be at least 25 feet away from open windows and doors to stop smoke from coming into the building.
This is the policy, but much closer than 25 feet to most UT buildings are trash cans where ashtrays are located, causing people to take their last puffs only feet away from the door.
Current Prevention Efforts
Gina Firth, associate dean of students, was awarded a three year $22,000 grant from the Tobacco-free Prevention Partnership of Hillsborough County.
According to Firth, the funds will be used and are being used to train people to provide smoke cessation classes for each other as well as assist in funding for the efforts of Dr. Olsen’s Health Promotion class and their endeavor.
The grant will also continue the smoke cessation classes currently being offered as well as providing interested faculty with intense training to help with ending tobacco use.
Education campaigns are being developed to get students to think about quitting and help them do so. “We want to offer more support and that’s kind of one of the goals with this grant,” Firth said.
Currently, UT offers a smoking quit line, which can be reached at 1-877-U-CAN-NOW (1-877-822-6669).
Students Unsure
When such an idea of a smoke-free campus was mentioned, several students weren’t sure about the effects it would have on campus.
“It will be less comfortable for smokers here,” Abdullah Alnasser, a junior accounting major said. “It will affect their lives.”
Alnasser, a Saudi Arabian student, mentioned that he knew people that if they did not smoke they would get headaches and would not be able to understand their class material.
Another student agreed with Alnasser, saying it would be hard for students.
“It would be really difficult for them to do so,” said Jasmyne Johnson, a junior criminology and psychology major.
Johnson notices a lot of undergraduate students that do smoke and she doesn’t see how UT could enforce the policy.
It’s up to UT
When the semester ends, Dr. Olsen’s Health Promotions class will have the results of their projects but the conclusion does not make any final decision.
The class will use the results to make recommendations to the UT administration and they will decide what they think is feasible.
Charlie can be reached at charlie.hambos@gmail.com.