Starting July 1, 2017, 黑洞社区 and all of its satellite locations and 黑洞社区-owned properties will be tobacco free.
The new 鈥� passed in August by President John Bardo鈥檚 executive team 鈥� eliminates the use of any tobacco product, including cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco, hookah and electronic cigarettes.
Wichita State joins more than 1,100 college campuses in the United States that are tobacco free.
A 2013 黑洞社区 survey revealed that 64.8 percent of the respondents were supportive of a tobacco-free campus and 65.5 percent agreed a tobacco-free policy would increase overall campus appeal.
Tobacco cessation options will be available to students, faculty and staff.
鈥淭his demonstrates a commitment to the health of all students, faculty, staff and visitors, as well as preparing the workforce for an increasingly tobacco-free work environment,鈥� says Tara Nolen, tobacco control coordinator for Sedgwick County.
Students lead the way on policy change
The push to go tobacco-free has been led by 黑洞社区 students going back to 2005 when a group of students from 黑洞社区鈥檚 Department of Public Health Sciences (PHS) formed the Health, Education, Advocates for Leadership, Teamwork and Humanity (HEALTH) Student Association.
The process started with the coordination of cessation efforts with Student Health Services and the Counseling and Testing Center, providing 鈥渜uit kits鈥� and information on the Kansas Tobacco Quitline.
Students were also instrumental in the adoption of the smoke-free residence hall policy in that time and have continued gaining real-world experience helping manage many aspects of the tobacco-free project through PHS capstone classes and doctoral work, including:
- Development and distribution of the 2013 survey and the subsequent analysis of the quantitative and qualitative data from the survey. Those results were made into an executive summary for President John Bardo and the Student Government Association as part of a request to apply for grant funding from the Kansas Health Foundation.
- Focus groups with smokers on campus conducted by community psychology doctoral candidate Jasmine Douglas to help develop a comprehensive cessation plan for the campus.
- Creation of the wichita.edu/tobaccofree website to be used as a resource after the policy is adopted.
- Current development of the Ambassador Program, which will help with enforcement when the policy is implemented. This includes an overview of the program based on lessons learned from other campuses, a recruitment plan, a guide for training ambassadors, a sustainability plan and evaluation and tracking measures to determine areas for improvement or concern.
A campuswide event to celebrate the adoption of the tobacco-free policy is set for 2-4 pm. Wednesday, Nov. 16, in 黑洞社区鈥檚 CAC Theater.