Separating Fact from Fiction about Smoking on Campus

Resources to fight smoking on college campuses are only a few keystrokes away with a new HHD web site that offers practical information, ideas, and guidance to college administrators involved with tobacco prevention.

The College Tobacco Prevention Resource is devoted to helping colleges and universities plan, implement and evaluate efforts to reduce tobacco use among students. Launched in December, the site contains facts about college tobacco use, strategies for comprehensive tobacco prevention, recommended steps for taking action on campus, case studies, glossary and links, and frequently asked questions.

The web site is funded by Emory University's Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium and was developed by HHD’s National Center for College Health and Safety's College Tobacco Prevention Initiative. CTPI helps colleges and universities plan, implement and evaluate efforts to reduce tobacco use among college students and conducts research to guide these efforts.

Laura Gomberg, CTPI project director, separates fact from fiction about college smoking and tells how college administrators can use the web site’s information to their advantage:

Gomberg: Smoking has increased among college students over the last decade whereas in the population of young adults between the ages of 18 and 24, it’s actually leveled off. There’s speculation that this rise is related to the Master Settlement Agreement, which prevents tobacco companies from advertising to youth under 18. The next youngest group they can really target is the 18 to 24 year olds.

The college population is easy to target for tobacco marketing. A lot of times they live in contained environments, like campuses, so they are easily reached with advertising. Because of the influence that environment plays in developing health behaviors, CTPI favors an environmental management approach that takes into account the social, economic and political factors that drive student tobacco use.

Social norms marketing is one such approach that uses marketing techniques to change behavior on campus. This approach is extremely campus-specific and has been used to curb drinking. There’s a real potential to use that kind of campaign to reshape perceptions about smoking.

In 2001, the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh launched a comprehensive tobacco prevention initiative that included a social norms marketing campaign. Smoking rates decreased by one-third following UW Oshkosh’s plan, which is now used as a model for other campuses as they design their own tobacco prevention campaigns.



Gomberg: Of the 15 million college students today, it’s estimated that 1.7 million will die prematurely from diseases related to smoking. This is a problem that needs to be addressed.

Colleges may find it difficult to focus on tobacco prevention given the whole host of behaviors that are taking place, such as drinking, which has a direct effect on the campus and on the students living there. There are many compelling issues on campus, but administrators should make smoking a priority and take a comprehensive approach to prevention.

Administrators can use the College Tobacco Prevention Resource web site to learn more about tobacco prevention on campuses in general and make a case to implement tobacco prevention strategies. The site also includes funding tips from local and national resources.



Gomberg: There are a lot of ways that smoking on campus can increase costs at a university. In addition to fires, there are also increased costs for maintenance and repairs for damaged items such as carpeting and furniture.

Some schools have done some investigation about cost savings associated with smoke-free policies. It’s important for college presidents and administrators to know what the potential costs are related to smoking in dorms and in other campus buildings. It’s also important for them to know what the potential cost savings might be for smoke-free dorm policies, like at the University of Rhode Island, and for smoke-free campuses, like at Bowdoin College. They need to look at instituting smoke-free policies primarily to improve the health of students, but they can also improve the university’s bottom line. By doing the right thing, universities can also save money.



Gomberg: The vast majority of students who use tobacco products on campus use cigarettes, but there is also a substantial number of students who are using smokeless tobacco, especially among student athletes. Smokeless tobacco is extremely potent and dangerous. It’s associated with many different cancers, such as oral cavity cancer, as well as gum disease and other types of health problems.

This is an area that is just beginning to be addressed on college campuses. Several national organizations are focused on bringing attention to this problem. The National Spit Tobacco Education Project, for example, does a lot of work to warn athletes about the dangers of smokeless tobacco. There are several other links on the resources page related to smokeless tobacco and other campus tobacco prevention topics.



Gomberg: College is a critical time to address smoking. Unfortunately, there is no one formula for every school. Schools need to go through a strategic-planning process where they analyze what’s going on at their campuses and set objectives for what they want to achieve, like at the University of New Hampshire.

Schools that are considering a policy change to institute smoke should take a step back and find out what policies they do have in place and whether they are being enforced. They need to figure out what are the next best steps. They can look to see what’s been done on other campuses. There are some good case studies along with strategies and a comprehensive prevention model that can work for them.