The Smoke Free Campus Movement

The aim of this thesis is to investigate the rising number of smoke free college and university campuses in the United States and to identify the mechanisms that can be used to implement a national policy requiring all colleges and universities to be smoke free. To fully investigate this topic, I utilized qualitative research through analyses from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, reports from the Surgeon General, a tobacco control legal consortium, newspaper articles, television news reports, websites of colleges and universities with smoke free policies, to consolidate the research into an overarching picture of the current climate of smoking policies on college and university campuses. The thesis uses this research to determine what led to the trend of college campuses enacting such policies; what are the arguments against the policies; and predictions about the future of the policies. Specifically, it analyzes the role that the tobacco industry plays in the implementation of tobacco-related policies. The thesis, then investigates the main reasons academic institutions decide to enact smoke free campuses. Following, it identifies the entities that have supported the movement of campus-wide implementation. At this point, the thesis presents the argument against smokeless campuses and explains the possible evolution of the movement. Finally, it discusses the necessary steps to creating a national policy prohibiting smoking at colleges and universities throughout the United States. In conclusion, the thesis outlines the method that colleges and universities have used to successfully make their campuses smoke free. Also, it outlines the proper steps to implement such policies on the national scale