Let’s Clear The Air: An Update on KSU’s Smoking Ban

Words by: Sierra Allen and Julie Riedel

In partnership with the state’s Board of Regents, a coordinating panel for higher education, Kent State University was the 26th, four-year-university in Ohio to implement a smoke-free campus.

First introduced in 2012, officials of the Board of Regents unanimously voted to recommend that the University System of Ohio should consider adopting the policy. Since then, a growing number of colleges have agreed to go tobacco free, and as of July 1, 2017, Kent State University joined the list.  

“We are working together to create a supportive community where everyone can learn, work and thrive,” said Kent State University President, Beverly Warren, in an email June 28, 2017.

Olivia Shock, junior visual communication design major, began smoking at 11-years-old due to peer pressure from an older crowd. Now at age 20, she smokes four to five cigarettes a day, and was unsuccessful at quitting when she tried. Although she follows the ban and no longer smokes on campus, she does not think the policy will be effective.

“I don’t think it’ll stop people because I still drive and smoke on campus, you know what I mean? And the people I talk to they’re like, ‘Oh, what are they gonna do? Chase me down on their Moped?’ You know? They’re gonna put it out and relight it.”

Before becoming a smoke free campus, KSU had a smoking policy introduced in 2006, which included no smoking inside buildings and a required 20 feet outside of one. Kent State University’s Office of

Student Conduct is responsible for dealing with campus policy violations, including for the previous and new smoking policy.

During the fall of 2017, Student Conduct recorded nine violations, while the fall of 2016 had one, and the fall of 2015 had three.

Each violation is a case-by-case scenario and the basic rules of a student conduct hearing are enacted. The consequence depends on the number of violations previously held and the viewing panel determines the best way to move forward. Community service, reflection assignments and educational workshops are generally used opposed to fines.

According to the Ohio Department of Health, more than 24 percent of Ohio’s smokers are between the ages of 18 and 24 and college students are showing premature signs of lung and cardiovascular damage. Cigarettes also contribute to 480,000 deaths per year, with 41,000 resulting from second-hand smoke, from the Centers for Disease Control. Tobacco smoke also contains a deadly mix of more than 7,000 chemicals; hundreds of which are harmful and about 70 can cause cancer.

“Being exposed to secondhand smoke is a significant risk factor and it’s a little scary that for years and years it was never considered and never an issue,” said Mary Kutchin, a Kent State University lecturer in the school of nursing. “I’m actually old enough that when I started working in the hospital, people were allowed to smoke in the hospital rooms.”

The new policy covers all domestic and international Kent State campuses and applies to all members of the universities, even volunteers, vendors, visitors and customers. Any property owned, operated and leased by Kent State does not allow tobacco use, including personal vehicles parked on the property. The ban restricts the use of nicotine, tobacco plant-based products, oral tobacco, hookah, e-cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and non-FDA approved nicotine products. So far, Todd Kamenash, Assistant Dean of Student and Director of Student Conduct, believes the ban is successful.

“As I walk around campus, it’s a lot more rare for me to see people just walking around smoking,” he said. “Especially in the winter time, you know you go inside and outside of the library, the student center, some of the more populated places and it always smelled like smoke and I feel it’s not like that now. So I can say anecdotally, I feel like it’s made a big difference.”

Not only will the smoking ban promote a healthy campus, it will also improve the environment overall. According to Truth, a campaign aimed at decreasing smoking in teens, second-hand smoke is more harmful for the environment than driving certain cars and the air pollution from cigarettes is 10 times more dangerous than diesel fuel cars. Cigarettes are also frequently discarded creating a substantial amount of littered and their absence with help maintain a cleaner campus.

Kent State is not the only university to adopt the tobacco-free policy. As of April 3, 2017, at least 1,827 schools have implemented the no-smoking policy, according to the Department of Higher Education, compared to the one school in 2003, as stated by Truth.

Some participating schools in Ohio include, but are not limited to: Bowling Green State University, Cleveland State University, The Ohio State University, The University of Akron and Ohio University.

“The healthy campus initiative, Kent State of Wellness, aligns with the vision and goal outlines in our Strategic Roadmap to a Distinctive Kent State,” said Warren. “Most importantly, it is the right action to take to ensure a healthier environment for every member of our community.”

 

Facts about tobacco use: https://prezi.com/view/wjEZmTr3EeZYcnyAKbVR/