1992_01 The Daily Collegian January 1992

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1 V etVS The Daily CoUegian • January 27,1992     O
Blowing off smoke on U.S. campuses
(CPS) — The glamour of
smoking is in ashes in the
1990s, and college campuses
are taking a hard look at
policies, some with an eye
.toward creating an entirely
smoke-free environment in the
future.
Many schools are dumping
vending machines, removing
ashtrays from sight, and
banishing smokers either off
campus, or to small, contained
areas away from non-smokers.
Tucked in the back of school
newspapers are
advertisements claiming to
help students qui t the smoking
habit. "You Can Do It" or "Let
Us Help You Kick That Nasty
Habit" spur the headlines.
"I don't think smoking
among college students is
considered cool," says Randy
Hurlow,       director      of
communications of the
American Cancer Society in
Washington state.
"Ifs that they start before
they're 18, and by the time they
are in college they are
addicted."
Yet, many students
continue to smoke.
According to the U.S.
Department of Health and
Human Services, a recent
survey reflects that in the 20-
24 year age group, 31.1 percent
of males smoke, and 28.1
percent of females also have
the habit.
People start smoking early
—7 80 percent, in fact, are
addicted by the time they are
18 years old. Non-smoking
activists • are fighting to
strengthen laws against
underage > smoking so
teenage**sdon'tBecoi-necollege
students with a major nicotine
addiction.
In December, three studies
published in the journal of the
American Medical Association
found that the Camel logo, Joe
Camel, "captures the fancy of
more children than adults, and
is as readily recognizable as
Mickey Mouse by many 6-
year-olds.
According to a Dec. 23
article in Newsweek magazine,
Camel's cigarette sales to
young people rose sharply
from $6 million a year prior to
using the logo to $476 million
today.
While nearly half the
students were smoking after
""Ine war, since the 1960s,
smoking trends have
fluctuated among college-
educated adults over 20, with
smoking at its peak in the mid-
1970s.
After warnings from the
U.S. Surgeon General and
federal crackdowns on glitzy
tobacco advertising, there has
been a decline in smoking
among young people with
some college education, from
42 percent to 26 percent
between 1965 and 1987,
according to the American
Lung Association.
The facts about smoking
are grim:
• Based on data from the
National Center for Health
statistics, smoking is the
single largest preventable
cause of premature death
and disability in the
United States, and kills
more Americans each year
than cocaine, heroin,
alcohol abuse, auto
accidents, homicide and
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suicide combined.
• Americans still smoke
600 billion cigarettes
yearly.
• In addition to many
lawsuits filed against the
tobacco companies by
smokers, recently a $5
billion class-action suit
was filed by a group of
cancer-stricken flight
attendants who charged
that secondhand smoke
caused the disease.
• Only 13 percent of lung
cancer patients live more than
five years after diagnosis.
What are colleges doing
to extinguish smoke on their
campus?
This fall, at West Virginia
Wesleyan College, faculty and
staff members voted to ban
most smoking on campus. No
sanctions ha ve been created for
those who don't comply, say
officials, and everyone on
campus uses the honor system.
"A growing concern for
the health and wellness of our
students, staff and visitors has
been the stimulus, of this
policy," says J. David Thomas,
college treasurer.
At the University of
Washington and other state
colleges, young smokers will
soonbe targeted by a statewide
anti-smoking program funded
by a $7.1 million grant.
Washington state competed
with 37other states to receive
part of a $115 million federal
grant to research smoking
problems in 'the state.
At SaintAMary-of-the-
Woods College in Indiana, the
administration did a year-long
smoking study and developed
policies that left the campus
virtually smoke-free, except for
a few contained areas..
Students have become
increasingly vocal in their
opposition to smoking.
"I hate it because most
college smokers don't have
respect for non-smokers," says
Angela Miller,20, a sophomore
at Saint Mary who says she is
allergic to cigarette smoke. "A
lot of people hide their habit
because it isn't healthy.
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