SHAB takes steps toward smoke-free OSU
Student Health Advisory Board proposes Fresh Air Initiative to ban smoking on campus
Regi Seitz
Issue date: 11/19/07 Section: News
OSU's Student Health Advisory Board has launched the Fresh Air Initiative to assess how students and faculty will react to a new smoking policy on campus.
The current procedure at OSU is a boundary policy, which entails non-smoking areas around certain buildings. The goal would be to make the entire campus a smoke-free environment.
The initiative, however, raises a concern that a smoke-free campus would affect the recruitment process and cause fewer students to attend OSU.
Charlie Fautin, deputy administrator for the Public Health Department, thinks that such a scenario won't occur.
A recent CNN article confirms Fautin's predictions, reporting that going smoke-free is a trend that's catching on across campuses nationwide.
According to the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation, five colleges in Oregon have either smoke-free residential housing or are entirely smoke-free. OSU is not on the list.
One major benefit of a smoke-free campus is an updated learning process for students - a reminder about the dangers associated with smoking.
"International students sometimes come from countries where it is encouraged to smoke," said Tina Withrow-Robinson, coordinator of special programs at OSU.
One of the goals of the smoke-free initiative is to educate international students about the dangers associated with smoking and second hand smoke.
SHAB is basing all progress of the initiative on the feedback from university staff and students.
"We want to know what students want," said Lisa Sarish, vice chair of SHAB.
The problem with the current smoking policy is that it is difficult to know what buildings are restricted, according to Sarah Ballini, chair of SHAB.
Due to the fact that even brief second hand smoke exposure causes harm, over 75 other schools across the U.S. have adopted policies against smoking.
New policy options include the sunset policy which outlines specific hours of smoking.
This policy would prohibit smoking during certain hours, when more people are on campus.
Students and staff, however, would still be exposed to second hand smoke after designated hours.
The smoke-free policy would ban smoking anywhere on campus.
The down side to the policy would be inconvenience.
Smokers would have to walk off campus grounds to indulge in a cigarette - which puts safety into question, especially during late hours.
OSU is also hosting the Great American Smokeout to create awareness about the dangers of smoking.
The annual event is sponsored by the American Cancer Society, and encourages those who smoke to quit for 24 hours.
For more resources on quitting smoking, visit www.quitsmoking.com.
The current procedure at OSU is a boundary policy, which entails non-smoking areas around certain buildings. The goal would be to make the entire campus a smoke-free environment.
The initiative, however, raises a concern that a smoke-free campus would affect the recruitment process and cause fewer students to attend OSU.
Charlie Fautin, deputy administrator for the Public Health Department, thinks that such a scenario won't occur.
A recent CNN article confirms Fautin's predictions, reporting that going smoke-free is a trend that's catching on across campuses nationwide.
According to the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation, five colleges in Oregon have either smoke-free residential housing or are entirely smoke-free. OSU is not on the list.
One major benefit of a smoke-free campus is an updated learning process for students - a reminder about the dangers associated with smoking.
"International students sometimes come from countries where it is encouraged to smoke," said Tina Withrow-Robinson, coordinator of special programs at OSU.
One of the goals of the smoke-free initiative is to educate international students about the dangers associated with smoking and second hand smoke.
SHAB is basing all progress of the initiative on the feedback from university staff and students.
"We want to know what students want," said Lisa Sarish, vice chair of SHAB.
The problem with the current smoking policy is that it is difficult to know what buildings are restricted, according to Sarah Ballini, chair of SHAB.
Due to the fact that even brief second hand smoke exposure causes harm, over 75 other schools across the U.S. have adopted policies against smoking.
New policy options include the sunset policy which outlines specific hours of smoking.
This policy would prohibit smoking during certain hours, when more people are on campus.
Students and staff, however, would still be exposed to second hand smoke after designated hours.
The smoke-free policy would ban smoking anywhere on campus.
The down side to the policy would be inconvenience.
Smokers would have to walk off campus grounds to indulge in a cigarette - which puts safety into question, especially during late hours.
OSU is also hosting the Great American Smokeout to create awareness about the dangers of smoking.
The annual event is sponsored by the American Cancer Society, and encourages those who smoke to quit for 24 hours.
For more resources on quitting smoking, visit www.quitsmoking.com.
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