Clearing the Air on Campus

Published in the News & Observer, January 21, 2005

One-third of North Carolina's college students are tobacco users, and many start smoking in college. Young adults are the only group in which smoking rates are rising rather than falling.

As a consequence it's estimated that one out of nine current college students will die of a tobacco-related illness. In addition to causing devastating health effects, tobacco use in college is associated with mental health issues, lower academic performance, high-risk drinking, illicit drug use and high-risk sexual behavior.

Smoking-related fires are also a concern on campus. Cigarette-caused fires kill 1,000 people every year in the United States and cause millions of dollars in property damage. In 1996, five UNC-Chapel Hill students were killed and three injured as a result of improperly disposed-of smoking materials.

Tobacco industry marketing and promotions are a major cause of students' tobacco use. Now that the industry can no longer directly market to children, it is focusing more intensely on a completely legal target, 18-to-24-year-olds. The industry needs these replacement smokers to take the place of the more than 400,000 Americans who die from tobacco-related illnesses each year.

Tobacco companies spend millions of dollars every year to market their products to college students. They sponsor in-bar promotions, fraternity and sorority parties, product giveaways at concerts and sporting events, and music events that will be a draw for the college crowd. Some companies entice bar owners to participate by offering free trips. Companies also spend large sums advertising in alternative publications aimed at the students.

To date, little has occurred in North Carolina to address tobacco use on college campuses. Our statewide efforts have primarily focused on teens and older adults, creating a significant gap in the tobacco education for the college-age group.

The best way to address college tobacco use is through stricter campus policies on tobacco use. Weak policies do not dissuade students from smoking and offer no protection from exposure to unsafe levels of secondhand smoke.

Research shows that people are less likely to begin smoking when there are policies in place that prohibit it. Students entering college as nonsmokers are 40 percent less likely to take up smoking when they live in smoke-free dorms. And while 27 percent of colleges nationwide prohibit smoking in campus housing, only two of the 16 UNC campuses are currently smoke-free.

Most students who are lucky enough to get a smoke-free dorm are still being exposed to dangerous levels of secondhand smoke in student unions, stadiums and even the entrances to academic buildings.

A model tobacco-free campus policy makes all college properties, including residence halls, smoke-free; prohibits the sale free distribution of tobacco on campus; prohibits campus organizations from accepting money or gifts from tobacco companies; prohibits tobacco advertisements in college-run publications, and offers free and accessible cessation services on campus.

Some might think that most college students, faculty and employees wouldn't be in favor of a 100 percent tobacco-free campus. But a recent survey at N.C. Central University showed that 68 percent of respondents preferred to live in smoke-free dorms, while two out of three support stricter policies to create smoke-free buildings on campus. Nationwide surveys have shown similar results.

College students have begun to advocate across North Carolina for "100 percent tobacco-free" policies. Student representatives from nine colleges met recently at the first annual Tobacco-Free Colleges Summit to address policy change on their campuses. They are taking the first steps toward creating healthier, smoke-free colleges and universities. Three of the state's historically black universities are taking a lead through a grant they received from the American Legacy Foundation.

But there is much more work to be done. In North Carolina there are close to 100 campuses with weak smoking policies that are jeopardizing the health of thousands of students and leaving them vulnerable to the industry's marketing tricks.

Simple policy changes can protect the health of all college students. We all must work to ensure that North Carolina's college students do not become the industry's next round of replacement smokers.