American Lung Association Study on College Students and Tobacco

On Monday, September 8, the American Lung Association released this report, analyzing the current status of tobacco use on college campuses.

The study recommends changing the campus norm—the perception that most students use tobacco. The truth is that, nationwide, only about 20% of students use tobacco, meaning that around 80% do not. While the use rate is still higher than what we would prefer, it is much lower than the perceived norm.

The BACCHUS Network and the American Lung Association share the same belief that campuses should pursue tobacco-free campus policies. This population-based strategy has been shown to provide the largest decreases in use. BACCHUS affiliates should look for the annual collegiate tobacco mailing, arriving in early October. This year, we focus more specifically on policy change and how you can tweak your current tobacco events to work toward a tobacco-free campus.

For more tobacco-related information, please visit: www.tobaccofreeU.org

-posted by: Tad Spencer