Student groups push for tobacco-free campus

Because of the harmful effects of smoking, some groups on campus are advocating that UT become tobacco-free. The Colleges Against Cancer (CAC) chapter at UT has launched a Tobacco-Free Campaign on campus.

The CAC had much inspiration from East Tennessee State University, which became a tobacco-free university starting August 11, 2008. ETSU permits smoking only in private vehicles, and their policy is enforced 24 hours a day. The CAC has many similar goals for their tobacco-free policy.

According to a press release by the CAC, the tobacco-free policy would prohibit tobacco use on all college property, including residence halls. It would also prohibit the free distribution of tobacco products on campus, along with affiliated fraternities and sororities. The policy would also prohibit the sale of tobacco products on campus, prohibit tobacco advertisements in college-run publications and promote tobacco treatment services and products through University Health Services.

Some of these points are already part of debate and policy on campus. SGA has debated the sale of tobacco products on campus and the Student Health Center has already made efforts to help students quit smoking.

Rosa Thomas, wellness coordinator for the Student Health Center, said a program called “Adopt-a-Smoker” was implemented in November during the Great American Smoke Out to provide support to students who were trying to quit smoking.

Thomas also said the Student Health Center has tried to offer “Quitting” classes and also refers students to 215-QUIT, a program she said fits better into a student’s schedule.

The Student Health Center offers educational classes about smoking, and Thomas said this is the best way to prevent students from smoking.

“Educational classes let students know about the harmful effects of smoking,” Thomas said.

Thomas said she thinks prohibiting tobacco advertisements would help students stop smoking.

“The reason many people smoke has to do with advertising,” Thomas said.

She said many cigarette brands, such as Virginia Slims, target women specifically. She also said the advertisements are “very enticing” and help students see smoking as a way to deal with stress.

The Tobacco-Free Campaign comes in the midst of some frightening statistics: according to the CAC press release, 50 percent of people who continue to smoke will die of smoking-related illnesses during their lifetime. Also, based on the national rate of smoking among college students, which is 24.4 percent, more than 6,000 students smoke on campus, and more than 2,000 of these students will die prematurely from smoking.

Thomas said many people begin smoking in college to cope with different stresses.

Also, according to the press release, smoking is the No. 1 cause of lung cancer death among men and women and has been related to one-third of all cancer-related deaths in the United States. Smoking causes 11 different types of cancers, cardiovascular diseases and lung diseases.

Second-hand smoke is another cause for concern.

“A tobacco-free campus would improve the quality of life for everyone because there are many dangers of second-hand smoke,” Thomas said.

She said the Knox County Health Department has also tried to reduce exposure to second-hand smoke by moving no-smoking limits farther away from doorways of buildings so people would not have to walk through smoke to enter or exit a building.

Through the efforts of the CAC and the Student Health Center, some students like Alex Goduco, a sophomore in business, believe a policy for a tobacco-free campus could be implemented at UT.

“I think UT could make the campus tobacco-free through the work of many different organizations,” Goduco said.