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Enforcement of College Campus Tobacco-free Policies
College campus tobacco-free policies protect students from secondhand smoke exposure. However, in a recent study, 38% of students on a tobacco-free campus had been exposed to secondhand smoke, indicating that compliance remains an issue. Best practices for achieving compliance with workplace smoke-free policies combine providing education about the policy, smoking cessation support, and when necessary, active enforcement. Most commonly, enforcement is conducted by health authorities. We explored methods currently used for promoting campus tobacco policy compliance.
Methods
We conducted semi-structured interviews with 71 key informants, representing 16 California universities with differing tobacco policies. Interviews were tape recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using content analysis.
Results
In contrast to best practices for implementation of community smoke-free policies, participants in this study viewed educational efforts and active enforcement as mutually exclusive routes. Participants described frustration with enforcement due to perceived weaknesses of the approach they selected. Campuses using an educational-only approach predominately asked campus community members to approach individuals smoking on campus and remind them about the policy and available cessation smokers. Key informants on campuses using an educational approach alone reported a reluctance of campus community members to approach individuals smoking. Individuals who were engaged in approaching smokers expressed feelings of frustration due to lack of community buy-in with the approach. Ultimately, key informants felt the education only approach lacked efficacy. Alternatively, some campuses used active enforcement, though predominately they reported the use of campus police issuing citations. Key informants reported that drawbacks included concerns about excessive punishment and lack of support from police.
Conclusion
Instead of viewing education and active enforcement as separate strategies, campuses should use both education and active enforcement, using the same channels of enforcement as other campus policies. This strategy would bring campus tobacco-free policy implementation in line with best practices for implementing smoke-free workplace policies.
Learning Areas:
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programsPublic health or related nursing
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research
Learning Objectives:
Describe current practices for implementing college campus tobacco-free policies
Discuss the ways in which current practices for implementing college campus tobacco-free policies differ from the long established best practices for adopting smoke-free community policy
Keyword(s): Tobacco Control, Policy/Policy Development
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have five years of experience in tobacco control research, policy and advocacy, including with the University of California San Francisco Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education and the University of Kentucky College of Nursing.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.