FREDONIA - Tobacco-Free Chautauqua Cattaraugus Allegany (TF-CCA) and the American Cancer Society recently honored the State University of New York at Fredonia for achieving a score of A plus on the Tobacco-Free U: 2015 New York State Dean's List, making the college one of 85 in the state with either smoke-free or tobacco-free policies in place. This reflects a 28 percent increase in such policies implemented since 2012.
"Fredonia worked very hard to achieve this honor and is one of only 14 in New York to achieve the A plus grade," said Ken Dahlgren, community engagement coordinator for TF-CCA. "We know that short-term exposure to second-hand smoke, even outdoors, puts people at increased risk, especially those with pre-existing cardiac and pulmonary illness. A tobacco-free environment reduces second-hand smoke exposure and the start of tobacco use among young people. It also helps smokers who are trying to quit."
The Tobacco-Free U report, published by the American Cancer Society and the American Cancer Society Action Network, assigns letter grades A through D to New York colleges for their campus smoking and tobacco policies. In this report, "tobacco free" means that the use of tobacco in any form is prohibited everywhere on campus. This includes smokeless forms of tobacco and electronic cigarettes.
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Pictured from left are Kathy Forster, residence life director; Mike Porpiglia, American Cancer Society Relay For Life coordinator; Susan Murphy, Employee Assistance Program coordinator; Ken Dahlgren, Tobacco-Free CCA representative; Debbie Dibble, Student Health Center director; students Lauren Goeing and Kyle Vertin; Monica White, associate vice president for student affairs; and student Cheyanne France.
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Mike Porpiglia from the American Cancer Society heralded Fredonia's policy success as one way to highlight the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout. "Every year, on the third Thursday of November, smokers nationwide take part in this event, either quitting that day or making a plan to quit. Across New York and the nation today, the Great American Smokeout is being used to support people who want to quit, discourage youth from starting and educate communities about the value of tobacco-free environments where people live, work and play," said Porpiglia.
Forty-two percent of colleges (85) in New York are either smoke-free or tobacco-free, and half of the state's colleges have implemented or are in the process of establishing either a 100 percent smoke-free or a tobacco-free policy.
"We have worked hard to provide students and staff with a healthy learning and working environment and this policy goes a long way toward furthering these goals," said Debbie Dibble, director Fredonia's Student Health Center. "Fredonia has been working on this process since January 2013. A multidisciplinary team met several times in the year leading up to the roll out date of January 2014. The team continues to work toward continued success with the initiative for the improved health and wellness of our campus community."
In 2014, college-age youth (18-24) in New York state had a smoking prevalence rate of 14.9 percent, twice the 7.3 percent rate found among New York state high school students, suggesting that a significant number of youth start smoking while attending New York's colleges.
"Students have responded well to our efforts at education on the tobacco-free initiative as we emphasize the importance of health, wellness and keeping our campus clean," said Kyle Vertin, Fredonia Student Committee member.
Data for the Tobacco-Free U: 2015 New York State Dean's List was gathered from 201 colleges and universities over the course of a year. It shows that the number of colleges that have adopted tobacco-free/smoke-free policies since the mid-2000s has increased 40 fold. As a percentage, private colleges and universities are more than twice as likely to have a D grade as a public campus, and public colleges and universities are more than twice as likely to be preparing to implement such policies compared to the state's private colleges.