COMMIT

TO A SMOKE FREE CAMPUS:

PS(THAT MEANS)U

JENNIFER HECKMAN

INTRODUCTION:
In recent years, many colleges and universities
across the country have elected to make the change
to a smoke-free campus environment. A study
conducted by the American Non-Smokers Rights
Foundation cites 1,514 American college campuses
as having smoke-free policies in effect by January 1,
2015 (Smokefree and Tobacco-Free U.S. and
Tribal Colleges and Universities). This number has

more than doubled in the last five years, which

shows how pertinent this issue is, not only in our
local community, but also on a national scale.
Included in this group of smoke-free colleges are
six of the other Big Ten schools, including Indiana
University, University of Iowa, Purdue University,
University of Illinois, Ohio State University, and
University of Michigan. 1

A 2007 study of Penn State students aimed to
better understand the attitudes and behaviors
related to smoking on campus (Student Smoking
2007). This study found two key concepts to be
true:
1.

to Penn State for about 40% of students

College is a time of development and growth for
young adults. For many students, it is their first
time living apart from their parents, and the
beginning of a new era of life choices made on their
own. They are susceptible to new influences at a
more intense level than they experienced in
previous years during high school. These new
influences, including, but not limited to, alcohol,
drugs, sex, and, you guessed it, smoking, could
drastically impact their lives as they know it.

1 To see the full list of smoke free U.S. college campuses,
visit: http://no-
smoke.org/pdf/smokefreecollegesuniversities.pdf

Frequency of smoking rises upon arrival

2.

The majority of students support a smoke

free campus

With these facts in mind, Penn State needs to

respond to the students sentiments. Penn State
University Park should serve as a happy, healthy,
and supportive home away from home to the over
46,000 undergraduate students who made the
choice to enter our We Are family. This report
aims to convince Penn State to take the same
initiatives as many other American higher
education institutions and elect to enforce a
smoke-free policy on University Park campus, as
well as all Penn State branch campuses.

HISTORY OF THE DECLINE:

In 1954, self-reported adult smoking was at an all time high at a staggering 45 percent
(Saad). At this time, very little information was distributed openly to the public about the
deleterious effects that smoking can have on the overall health of an individual. While there
was some general knowledge that smoking was not necessarily good for ones health, fast
facts about the negative effects of tobacco were not as readily accessible to the public as we
know them to be today. Additionally, the research on this topic did not truly take off until
the late 1950s and the resulting actions of the public were not as drastic as cigarette-
opposers had hoped. Nearly a decade later, in the early 1970s, smoking continued to be
relatively common, with 40 percent of Americans still self-reporting themselves as smokers
(Saad). It was only throughout the following decades, as greater knowledge of general
health began to spread more rapidly, that the American population saw a significant decline
in smoking come into fruition. By 2000, nearly fifty years after the initial efforts to reduce
American cigarette use started, the number had only managed to be cut in half, with about
24% of adults still continuing to smoke (Saad).

Trends in Current Cigarette Smoking Among High School Students and Adults, United States, 19652011. Digital image. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2015.


Much of this decline can be attributed to the surplus of laws that were enacted in the late
1980s and early 1990s. These worked to spread awareness of health risks, decrease ease of
and accessibility to smoking, and preserve clean air (Laws/Policies). Some of these are as
follows:

1986 Comprehensive Smokeless Tobacco Health Education

o

Warning labels on tobacco packages and ads, prohibits ads on TV and radio, and promotes
education transparency with regards to tobacco industry

1988 Amendment to Federal Aviation Act

o

Makes domestic flights of two hours or less smoke-free

1992 Synar Amendment

o

Prohibits sale & distribution of tobacco products to minors with intent to reduce availability

Our nation has been making strides towards a steady decline in smoking culture for over six
decades. Now it is our turn to help eradicate bad habits by teaching the next generation
about their harmful effects. We have removed smoking from high schools, restaurants, and
workplaces; now the next step is on college campuses.

SUPPORT FOR A SMOKE FREE CAMPUS:

The University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA), a student organization on campus
serving as Penn States student government, has recently been working on legislation to
actively advocate for a smoke-free campus. Many students have been speaking out about
the lack of clean air on University Park campus due to excessive cigarette smoke, including
walking behind someone on a sidewalk, entering a building that has someone smoking
outside, or even from passerbys. Our student body should feel at ease here, and allowing
our students to be put in these harmful situations attacks that feeling.

THE STUDENT BODY:

A recent study conducted by At-Large Representative for UPUA, Noel Purcell, aimed to
better understand how Penn Staters feel about smoking on campus as well as how involved
they are in these harmful habits (Purcell). The survey received about 1,300 student
responses, with questions covering a variety of diverse areas of thought.

The first question on the survey asked how many of the survey participants smoke or use
smokeless tobacco products. Responses showed that only 15% of students actually use
tobacco products, with the overwhelming majority of individuals not self-reporting
themselves as tobacco users (Purcell).

The next question served to understand when student smokers started this habit, whether
it was before coming to Penn State or after having arrived on campus. The responses give a
baseline for the great temptation of tobacco products specifically within University Park
campus life. Sadly, 31% of smokers, who had self-reported in the previous question, admit
to only having started smoking after having arrived to college, showing that temptation
is real and is heavily affecting a large number of our incoming students (Purcell).


The final general student life question on the somewhat long survey asked students how
often they were exposed to secondhand smoke while walking through campus. Almost 90%
responded saying that occasionally or very often, they are exposed to secondhand
smoke just by doing their regular daily activities such as walking on campus to and from
class. A whole 7% of students even felt strongly enough to say they were always exposed to
secondhand when walking on campus (Purcell). This shows the severity of this problem on
a students everyday life.

FAILURE OF CURRENT POLICIES:

Penn State Policy AD32, the current smoking policy for both main and branch campuses,
follows the idea of providing only limited space in which individuals may smoke (Policy
AD32 Smoking Policy and Guideline).2 This means that smoking is:
Prohibited in all University facilities, at all locations, including University-owned vehicles. It
also is prohibited in any outside area adjacent to a facility whose configuration and/or
other physical circumstances allow smoke either to enter and affect the internal
environment or to unduly affect the environment of those entering or exiting the facility

2 To view the full Penn State Smoking Policy and Guideline, visit: https://guru.psu.edu/policies/AD32.html


In an attempt to make
this somewhat
arduous policy easier
for the average
individual to
comprehend, Penn
State released maps of
certain campus areas
with small zones
marked as usable
smoking stations. 3

"Smoking Areas." Penn State Residence Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2015.

However, these policies and maps arent serving their purpose. Secondhand smoke has
become a problem outside these designated areas, specifically on public sidewalks. Changes
need to be made. A more strict policy needs to be put into effect in order to eliminate
uncertainties and secure the safety and well-being of Penn State students. In the recently
conducted survey, 83% of responders admitted to either agreeing or strongly agreeing
to wanting Penn State administration to make changes to the current smoking policy
on campus, advocating for an individuals right to clean air (Purcell).

To see all maps indicative of Penn State smoking stations, visit: http://studentaffairs.psu.edu/reslife/smokingareas.shtml

HEALTH CONCERNS:
There are a variety of health concerns that plague those who have come into contact
with tobacco smoke, including secondhand exposure (Health Effects of Cigarette
Smoking).4 Here are just a few:

Cigarette smoking causes one in every five deaths in the US each year
o

This attributes to about 480,000 deaths per year

Mortality rate for smokers is 3 times higher than for non-smokers

42,000 people die from lung cancer caused by secondhand smoke each year

Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, strokes, lung disease, and even
diabetes

In addition, a reported 41,000 of the 480,000 smoke-related deaths each year are due
entirely to secondhand smoke (Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking). In choosing to
support a smoke-free campus, we are choosing to help reduce these numbers by
actively supporting those who decide not to engage in this dangerous habit.

OPPOSING ARGUMENTS:
Surveys have shown that the vast majority of Penn State students would like for this
campus to become smoke-free, and the easiest thing to do would simply to be to follow
majority rule. However, what arguments lie on the other side of the spectrum?

NO PLACE LIKE HOME:

Whether we want to believe this or not, smoking is not illegal in the United States,
and some of our student body admits to being avid smokers. They find comfort in

4 For a full list of health concerns, visit:

http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/effects_cig_smoking/

being able to smoke in their own homes and communities, knowing full well that the
US government has never openly condemned their actions with legal punishments.
With this in mind, it is necessary to decide if we want to require our students to be
forced to give up a part of their life in order to assimilate into Penn State culture or if
we could simply work to better enforce our current policy of limited smoking
spaces.

COSTS:
Some may argue that going smoke-free would actually save money, because it costs
about $150,000 each year to clean up the non-biodegradable cigarette butts
("Tobacco Free Colleges"). Its easy to think that a smoke-free campus would
eliminate that cost altogether and shuffle those funds into a more useful area of
education and student life. However, any new policy takes some degree of extra
enforcement, and that means manpower. These funds would need to be added into
the salaries of individuals who would be actively ensuring this policy goes into effect
with all intended ease. Consequences would need to be taken when someone
violates our nonsmoking policy, and someone needs to be there to ensure those
consequences are properly distributed.

CONCLUSION:
In summary, the push for a smoke-free campus at University Park is clear. Penn State should
be actively looking into all options and choosing the path that fits the best interests of the
student body at all times. In order to meet these goals, certain steps should be taken with
deliberate speed:

Establish a task force to examine the effects of smoking on Penn States campuses

Conduct research to better understand student sentiments on the issue and how to
properly react

Conduct research to understand how a smoke-free policy has affected colleges and
universities across the nation

Elect to place into effect a smoke-free policy on Penn State campuses

Actively enforce this policy through all necessary outlets

We have been actively pushing to end the effects of smoking on our nations youth and
innocent bystanders for years. On a campus with over 40,000 students, and branch
campuses with even more thousands of students, Penn State could be the next milestone in
that push. Make the change to

WE ARE SMOKE FREE!


Works Cited

"Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, 06 Feb. 2014. Web. 09 Apr. 2015.

"Policy AD32 Smoking Policy and Guideline." Policy Manual. Penn State, 06 Mar. 2006. Web. 09 Apr.
2015.

"Smokefree and Tobacco-Free U.S. and Tribal Colleges and Universities." American Nonsmokers
Right's Foundation (n.d.): n. pag. American Nonsmokers' Right's Foundation. American Nonsmokers
Right's Foundation, 2 Apr. 2015. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.

"Smoking Areas." Penn State Residence Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2015.

"Student Smoking 2007." Penn State Pulse (2007): n. pag. Web. 9 Apr. 2015.

Trends in Current Cigarette Smoking Among High School Students and Adults, United States, 1965
2011. Digital image. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2015.

"Laws/Policies." Tobacco Laws and Policies. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, n.d. Web.
08 Nov. 2014.

Saad, Lydia. "U.S. Smoking Rate Still Coming Down." U.S. Smoking Rate Still Coming Down. Gallup, 24
July 2008. Web. 10 Nov. 2014.

Purcell, Noel. "Smoking Survey." Survey. Unpublished. 02 March 2015.
Penn State Nittany Lions. Digital image. Sportslogos.net. N.p., 27 Apr. 2011. Web. 09 Apr. 2015.

"Tobacco Free Colleges." Tobacco Free Florida. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2015.