Congratulations to Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities. In addition to the state going smoke-free, the campuses have made all their grounds completely smoke-free, as well.
Though there has been some backlash over the new policy, we encourage campuses to stay on-message about the health benefits of smoke-free/tobacco-free environments, and emphasizing that healthy behaviors are the norm.
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08257/911949-85.stm
-posted by: Tad Spencer
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This is definitely a tremendous step forward in the fight against tobacco and will hopefully encourage more bans on campus in the near future. The implementation of the ban, however, could have been handled much better. Students were informed of the new policy by email only one day before the ban took effect. Not surprisingly, many students were angered and planned smoking protests on campus.
While students that smoke will eventually accept the new rule, the severity of the backlash could have been reduced. After a tobacco ban has been approved on campus, The BACCHUS Network recommends educating students for at least one semester about the new policy before beginning enforcement. This will give students ample time to start thinking about changing their smoking habits and should decrease the backlash of an abrupt implementation. BACCHUS also strongly recommends that campuses go completely tobacco-free, not just smoke-free, so that the many new deadly smokeless tobacco products on the market do not find their way on campus.
A couple of things that can be applauded about the Pennsylvania implementation are giving warnings to first time offenders and having cessation resources available on campus. Quitting smoking is incredibly difficult and universities should provide the necessary support to help smokers adhere to a tobacco-free campus.
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