At least 1,137 campuses in the United States are certified 100 percent tobacco-free, and although Syracuse University has had a tobacco-free policy in effect since July 1, 2015, it isn’t included in that number.

Those 1,137 campuses were aggregated by the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation, which has been “defending your right to breathe smoke-free air since 1976,” according to its website. The campuses are listed in an April 2016 report by the foundation that lists all the smoke-free and tobacco-free U.S. and tribal colleges and universities that adhere to the ANRF’s smoke-free and tobacco-free criteria.

In order to qualify for that list, a campus must ensure that “smoking or tobacco use is not permitted on campus at any time,” according to an ANRF tip sheet.

SU’s tobacco-free policy leaves wiggle room for smoking and tobacco use on campus, as the policy is not enforced by any official body on the campus. The Department of Public Safety does not enforce the policy; rather, it is designed to be controlled by community members. While a DPS officer could inform an on-campus smoker about the policy, that officer could not punish the smoker for smoking.

“I think it’s more campus-focused, as a campus community,” said Thomas Dennison, faculty director of the Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion at SU. “The message is that going tobacco-free is out of respect for the people that you share the environment with so that other people are not exposed to secondhand smoke.”

The tobacco-free policy has had its roots in community enforcement since its start in July 2015, and there are no plans for it to intensify in enforcement as SU prepares for the policy to enter its second phase in July 2017.

The first phase of the policy encompassed a tobacco-free campus, with the exception of the Carrier Dome, the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel and Conference Center, Drumlins Country Club and Syracuse Stage. Those areas will fall under the tobacco-free policy’s second phase, said Gail Grozalis, executive director of faculty and staff wellness at SU, in an email.

“The reason that those four properties were addressed for phase two is that that’s where the campus intersects most frequently with members of the general community,” Dennison said. “…We just wanted to make sure that we did that effectively and didn’t get ourselves into situations where we squared off with anybody.”

To promote the second phase of the policy, Dennison said the university will include information about the Dome’s tobacco-free policy in season ticket purchases for SU’s athletic teams. Similarly, he added, guests making reservations at the Sheraton will be informed that SU has a tobacco-free campus.

The current phase of the policy has been heavily promoted with the start of the academic year. The Slutzker Center for International Services has provided new students with tobacco-free campus fact sheets and policy pocket cards, Grozalis said. Resident advisers have also been given fact sheets to display and distribute in their residence halls, she added, among other promotional tactics.

Whether those tactics will help SU community members refrain from smoking on campus or in general remains unclear. Benjamin Domingo, director of SU Health Services, said students have a “transient” nature, while faculty and staff tend to stay on campus to smoke during breaks.

Students are also less likely to consult with medical professionals than older people, Domingo said. Only about 22 students consulted SU Health Services for tobacco cessation over a two-year period, he said.

“Obviously the difficult thing with students that’s very unique is the social smoking, the whole ‘I’ve got a buzz, I can keep it going with a toke,’” Domingo said.

Although there is no true quantitative way to determine the effectiveness of the policy yet, Dennison said the university had four separate studies conducted to determine how to promote the policy and make it relevant for its four main populations: students, faculty, staff and the general community.

“Our approach with this has been to do it in a measured way,” Dennison said. “It’s not a burning building. It’s something that we should do, and we will do it.”

Published on September 5, 2016 at 10:48 pm

Contact Alexa: atorrens@syr.edu