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Smoked Out! The Boise State campus will soon be smoke free
Bob Beers, Opinion Editor
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In October of 2008, Boise State announced its decision to become a smoke-free university. There will be no smoking in buildings, around buildings or anywhere on campus, period. Since the announcement, students have been talking and The Arbiter has been listening. With some frequently asked questions in mind, I walked through campus to the office of Ferdinand Schlapper, the Executive Director of University Health Services. Below are the questions posed to and the responses from Mr. Schlapper.
Administration
Q “What were some of the steps taken to achieve the smoking ban and for about how long has this process been in effect?”
A “What the President’s cabinet came back to us with was saying that we don’t want to necessarily review this policy change piecemeal, incrementally. Let’s look at where are we going eventually with this and how do we take steps toward that. The directive we were given was to collect data on campus. Look at surveying our students, our faculty and staff as to their current smoking behaviors, their attitudes, their perceptions of smoking on campus, then to collect data about the harmful impact of smoking. And then the other piece was to try and get the major governing bodies on campus to see at what level would they support moving forward with us being smoke free. So ASBSU, faculty, senate, professional staff assembly and the classified employee senate.”
New Students
Q “Is there anything in particular you would want to have communicated to the new students here on campus?”
A “Well, one of the things we have found is that this is a great recruiting tool to come to campus. In the sense of promoting Boise State as an active, vibrant, dynamic campus, creating an environment that is conducive to their success and student learning. That research is showing that exposure to second-hand smoke and that if you’re a smoker yourself, that can really cause problems. This is for all students, faculty and staff to create that healthy environment.”
Control
Q “Are there any punitive systems or mechanisms in place for students who are not compliant?”
A “The overwhelming effectiveness of compliance and enforcement has to do with that change of the culture in the area, and that peer pressure. When you have a very clear policy and everyone knows where you can and cannot smoke and if you know if you’re violating it and everyone around you knows that you’re violating it, there’s a self-enforcement within the community that will step up.”
Implementation
Q “How do you plan to make the change actually happen, to go from ideas and paper to practice?”
A “The are several steps involved. First and foremost is an extensive promotional campaign and educational campaign.
We been doing that since the policy was passed and the press release came out last October. We were doing promotions in the Fall and we’ve been doing them in the Spring. A combination of notices, announcements, articles in The Arbiter, talking with ASBSU, we’ve got posters on campus and we’ve got a website up. Signage will be going up all around campus. We wanted to put the signs up very close to when the policy goes into effect. The timing is important. Those will be going up around the perimeter of the campus to let everyone know they are entering a smoke-free zone, and then around key, strategic places around the campus.”
Findings
Q “What were some of the findings you were able to located through surveys and the data you collected on the research?”
A “We had all the research data to show the harmful effect to your health but now there’s also research that shows it also impacts academic success. Smokers had lower grade point averages than non-smokers, even lower than high-risk drinkers, binge drinkers. It affects the brain chemistry also as far as depression and suicide ideation and so forth, which is a big concern for us on campus. Smokers have a five times higher rate of ’suicidality,’ or thoughts of suicide.”