Smoke-Free OSU: A Snapshot
of the First Year of the Policy
Healthy OSU
The Project Team
• Marc Braverman
School of Social & Behavioral Health Sciences
Extension Family and Community Health Program
• Lisa Hoogesteger
Director, Healthy Campus Initiatives
• Jessica Johnson
Research associate, Healthy Campus Initiatives
Graduate student, Master of Public Health program
Special thanks to...
• Pat Ketcham
Student Health Services
• Rebecca Mathern & Amanda
Champagne
OSU Office of the Registrar
• Linda Sather & Donna Chastain
OSU Office of Human Resources
• Lisa Leventhal & Candi Loeb
OSU Office of Research Integrity
• President’s Office
OSU-Corvallis & OSU-Cascades
• Virginia Lesser
Survey Research Center &
Dept. of Statistics
• Brian Flay
College of Public Health and
Human Sciences
• Chris Sinnett
Community Network
• Family & Community Health
Program, OSU Extension,
College of Public Health and
Human Sciences
Today’s presentation and discussion
• Focused on Corvallis campus only
• Will examine how the policy has been working
• Will identify current issues and actions needed
Planning for the policy at OSU
Spring 2008:
Smoke-free campus proposed by
Student Health Advisory Board
Fall 2008:
OSU Smoke-Free Task Force created
January 2011:
Smoke-free OSU-Corvallis decision
finalized
September 2012: Smoke-free campus policy begins
Backdrop:
The national trend in smoke-free
campuses
Campuses that are 100% smoke-free or tobacco-free:
Fall 2008................... 130
Fall 2011................... 586
November 2013.....1,127 (including 758 tobacco-free)
Source: Americans for Nonsmokers Rights (www.no-smoke.org)
Our primary evaluation questions
• What is the level of awareness on campus about the policy?
• What are the levels of support for the new OSU policy?
• How much smoke exposure is there on campus now?
• What are opinions about how the policy should be enforced?
• How have smokers responded? What are current patterns of
smoking and tobacco use?
The Campus Survey
Spring 2013
• The databases
• Students:
• Faculty & Staff:
From Office of Registrar
From Office of Human Resources
N = 22,141
N = 4,820
• Time frame
• May 23: Initial invitations
• May 29 – June 13: Reminders (3 to students; 2 to faculty/staff)
• IRB review
The Campus Survey
Data Analysis
• Response rates
 Students:
 Faculty/Staff:
25.7%
42.6%
• Post-survey weighting
 Student responses weighted by:
▪ Gender
▪ Class standing
 Faculty/Staff responses weighted by: ▪ Gender
▪ Age
▪ OSU position
• Smoking rates (weighted)
 Students:
 Faculty/Staff:
4.4% daily;
3.0% daily;
8.3% occasional
1.6% occasional
Findings:
Awareness of the smoke-free policy
99%
100%
95%
90%
89%
90%
92%
85%
80%
75%
70%
65%
60%
55%
50%
Non-smokers
Smokers
______________________
Students
Non-smokers
Smokers
______________________
Faculty & Staff
Support for Smoke-Free Policy
(“Our campus should be 100% smoke-free”)
100%
90%
80%
80%
77%
72%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
18%
20%
10%
10%
0%
All
Non- Smokers
smokers
_________________________
Students
All
Non- Smokers
smokers
________________________
Faculty & Staff
Comments:
Support/ Non-support for the policy
• “Thank you for making campus smoking-free! I have been here
since 2008 and have seen a significant decrease in the amount of
smoking & I LOVE it!” (Student)
• “I was skeptical at first that this was over-bearing, but now
support the policy.” (Faculty/Staff)
• “Smoking isn’t illegal and should be allowed on campus. We need
to stop trying to legislate behavior.” (Faculty/Staff)
• “The smoke free policy has made an enormous difference to
those of us with asthma....I have not had to visit a doctor this
year for asthma.” (Faculty/Staff)
• “Completely ban tobacco use anywhere and
everywhere on OSU property.” (Faculty/Staff)
Exposure to smoke on campus –
at building entrances
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
Three or more
times
Once or twice
50%
40%
28%
30%
17%
30%
20%
10%
9%
9%
19%
21%
All
Non-smokers
6%
11%
0%
Smokers
Exposure to smoke on campus –
near campus boundary
100%
90%
77%
79%
70%
80%
70%
60%
50%
50%
51%
48%
40%
30%
20%
10%
27%
28%
All
Non-smokers
22%
0%
Smokers
Three or more
times
Once or twice
“It bothers me to go through cigarette smoke
...outside”
100%
86%
90%
80%
82%
78%
86%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
23%
20%
14%
10%
0%
All
Non- Smokers
smokers
__________________________
Students
All
Non- Smokers
smokers
_________________________
Faculty & Staff
Would ask a smoker to put out
his/her cigarette...
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
22%
29%
24%
30%
20%
8%
5%
10%
0%
All
Non- Smokers
smokers
__________________________
Students
All
Non- Smokers
smokers
_________________________
Faculty & Staff
Students’ opinions about enforcing the policy
100%
90%
80%
No enforcement
procedure
73%
70%
Small fine
60%
52%
50%
47%
39%
40%
30%
20%
Large fine
35%
Refer violators
26%
19%
16%
12%
18%
12%
10%
14%
17%
9%
3%
0%
All
Non-smokers
Smokers
Other strategy
Comments:
Enforcement of the policy
• “I do have qualms still about the amount of visitors who smoke
during sporting events.” (Student)
• “Gentle warnings should be given. I don’t want it to be
punitive, but I also don’t want people to smoke on campus.”
(Student)
• “There are a lot of visitors on campus every day not seeming to
know the rules. We need BIG signs to let people know this is a
nonsmoking campus.” (Faculty/Staff)
• “When it was implemented in September 2012, students did
follow the policy...However, as the time goes by, I see more
and more students are coming back to smoke
within the campus sphere.” (Faculty/Staff)
Adjustment to the policy by smokers
100%
90%
80%
70%
62%
60%
50%
45%
40%
30%
23%
21%
20%
10%
0%
Students
33%
15%
3%
6%
9%
3%
8% 7%
13%
6%
Fac/Staff
Compliance:
Have you smoked on campus…?
100%
90%
11%
5%
14%
80%
70%
32%
Yes, many
times/every day
60%
50%
80%
40%
30%
No, not at all
57%
20%
10%
0%
Students
Yes, once/a few
times
Fac/Staff
Comments:
Other concerns & suggestions
• “It does not seem like a healthy choice for a female smoker
who lives in the dorms and is up late studying to have to walk a
mile off campus to have her smoke break.” (Student)
• “I think the campus needs to acknowledge the cultural aspect
of smoking for students and be sensitive to that when creating
and enforcing policies around smoking.” (Student)
• “I think the options the campus has available to assist in
student efforts to quit smoking need to be made more
apparent...I had no idea these options were available.”
(Student)
Interpretation & Conclusions
1. How is the policy working?
2. What needs our attention now?
3. Next steps: Sustainability
How is the policy working?
•
•
High levels of support by students, faculty,
and staff
Campus community is largely satisfied with
smoke-free environment
• ...except for campus boundary
• Input has been received for enforcement
decisions
• OSU has been recognized as a “Gold Campus”
& “mentor campus”
NW Center for Public Health Practice, Univ. of Washington
What needs our attention now?
(a) Trash & refuse
25
What needs our attention now?
(b) Signage
Examples from U. of O.
What needs our attention now?
(c) Communication & Enforcement
• Campus partners: Visitors
• Community partners: Businesses, Health Department
• How will enforcement be carried out?
Next Steps: Sustainability
• Increase trash & refuse pickup
• Implement signage across campus
• Continued communication and education
• Continued monitoring
• Increased enforcement
• Work with OSU-Cascades on their decision process
Questions &
Discussion
http://oregonstate.edu/smokefree