Addressing Tobacco Use on Campus
With the increased level of teens and young adults who use tobacco and vaping products, colleges are now faced with how to effectively combat tobacco use on campus.
Data from 2018, shows that, 23.6% of Wisconsin high school students report using any tobacco product with 20.1% of high school students report using e-cigarettes in the last 30 days. Many of these teens will continue to use or become regular tobacco users in college. Continuous use of tobacco products puts them at risk for lifelong negative health outcomes like exposing their developing brain to nicotine and addiction.
A supportive healthy campus provides everyone a safe and clean environment for them to live and learn tobacco-free. This provides campuses an opportunity to help those who use tobacco a chance to kick their addiction. Colleges and universities need to understand this and should be ready to help those who want to quit, by providing support and cessation resources.
The following sections outline ways that Wisconsin colleges can address tobacco use on their campuses.
As some campuses begin to work to address tobacco use they realize they need a better understanding of their environment and of how their campus feels about and uses tobacco products.
Ask Questions
Northland College in Ashland, wanted to understand the attitudes that surrounded tobacco use on their campus. Northland developed a campus wide survey and distributed it online. Their results showed that 66% of respondents reported being exposed to secondhand smoke/aerosol while on campus.
In 2017, the University of Wisconsin- Madison SPARK student organization along with community partners conducted a campus survey. They found that 81% of nearly 10,000 respondents supported a tobacco-free campus. Saint Norbert College in De Pere, screens students for tobacco use at their health and wellness center. Students are asked about their tobacco and vaping use when they are referred for alcohol and substance abuse. Saint Norbert also asks about tobacco use as part of their general intake process for appointments at the health center.
Educate and Advocate
Getting teens and young adults to talk about their tobacco use and quitting can be difficult. Not all young adults are moved by stats, they listen to their own social network instead. Their friends, family, and media can have a strong influence and profound effect on young adult tobacco use.
Getting teens and young adults to talk about their tobacco use and quitting can be difficult. Not all young adults are moved by stats, they listen to their own social network instead. Their friends, family, and media can have a strong influence and profound effect on young adult tobacco use.
Advocating for issues you care about is a great way to ignite change. The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater had a student representative provide spoken testimony at a committee hearing on the state budget. They also held an on campus vaping presentation and invited their state representative to come and learn about the new tobacco trends. UW-Whitewater SPARK students continuously meet and discuss proposing a tobacco-free campus with their student government and campus leaders. It is important for elected officials, campus leadership and community leaders to know about this issue and how it impacts the people they represent.