College campus smoking policies and programs and students' smoking behaviors

Tyrone F Borders,K Tom Xu,Donna Bacchi,Danielle Sorelle-Miner,Lee Cohen

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-5-74

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough tobacco use in the United States has declined over the past 20 years, cigarette use among college students remains high. Additional research is thus needed to determine how university tobacco control policies and preventive education programs affect college students' smoking behaviors.MethodsApproximately 13,000 undergraduate students at 12 universities or colleges in the state of Texas completed a web-based survey. College smoking policies were obtained from a survey of college administrators and from college websites. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to estimate the effects of individual smoking policies and programs on the odds of cigarette smoking.ResultsOf the individual programs, only having a preventive education program on campus was associated with lower odds of smoking. The existence of smoking cessation programs and designated smoking areas were associated with higher odds of smoking. Policies governing the sale and distribution of cigarettes were insignificantly associated with smoking.ConclusionRather than focusing on policies restricting cigarette sales and use, college administrators should consider implementing or expanding tobacco prevention and education programs to further reduce student smoking rates.

Highlights

Tobacco use in the United States has declined over the past 20 years, cigarette use among college students remains high
Several studies have shown that anti-smoking messages can reduce smoking rates among younger adults [7,8,9,10], but little research has been conducted to assess their effectiveness among college students
Restriction of tobacco distribution, prohibition of tobacco sales, restriction of smoking within 20 feet from entrances, and prohibition of smoking in residence halls were not associated with the odds of smoking, suggesting that they are ineffective in influencing college students' smoking behaviors

Summary

Introduction

Tobacco use in the United States has declined over the past 20 years, cigarette use among college students remains high. Additional research is needed to determine how university tobacco control policies and preventive education programs affect college students' smoking behaviors. BMC Public Health 2005, 5:74 http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/5/74 and American Cancer Society (ACS) advocate that colleges ban smoking in all campus buildings and residence halls; prohibit the sale, sampling, and advertising of tobacco products; restrict smoking to a minimum of 20 feet from building entrances and air intake units; limit or prohibit spit tobacco use on campus; and implement tobacco prevention/education and cessation programs on campus [3,4]. According to a survey of 50 colleges and universities across the United States, the number of campuses regulating cigarette use in student housing increased from 1% to 54% between 1994–1995 and 2002–2003 [5]. Several studies have shown that anti-smoking messages can reduce smoking rates among younger adults [7,8,9,10], but little research has been conducted to assess their effectiveness among college students

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion