Smoking/Smoke Free Truman State University

In 2006 the Surgeon General released a report titled The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke. The health risks of tobacco smoke has long been known by the general public, but this report in 2006 detailed the many health effects of secondhand smoke exposure to the public. The report discusses how many adults and children are still exposed involuntarily on a regular basis to tobacco smoke and that there is no risk-free level of smoke exposure. Despite this report, support for more smoke free workplaces, schools, and public areas as been slow growing. However, many college campuses have been leading the cause by initiating smoke free and tobacco free policies on campus. As of July 2014, 1,372 college and university campuses in the United States have adopted 100% smoke free policies in order to support a more healthy learning and work environment. In July 2015 Truman State University will join this growing list of smoke free campuses. Although the risks of tobacco smoke have been thoroughly researched and most of the population agrees on the harmful effects, many are less aware of the harms secondhand smoke can cause. Secondhand smoke, also known as environmental tobacco smoke, is a mixture of both sidestream smoke (the smoke from the lightened end of a cigarette) and mainstream smoke (the smoke exhaled by a smoker). Sidestream smoke is the more dangerous kind because of the higher levels of carcinogens and smaller particle size. Secondhand smoke is classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a known human carcinogen. In addition, secondhand smoke has over 7,000 chemicals in it and 70 known carcinogens. Because of this, secondhand smoke is known to cause lung cancer, breast cancer, throat cancer, cardiovascular disease, childhood asthma, respiratory infections, and other chronic conditions. In 2008, the Centers for Disease Control found that about 40% of nonsmoker adults are exposed to secondhand smoke. This percentage continues to drop, in part because of the efforts of community members to initiate smoke free policies. According to the Missouri Information Community Assessment in 2011, 23.1% of Adair county residents currently smoke. In addition, 24.5% of residents live with someone who currently smokes. 83.9% of Adair county residents stated that smoking is not allowed at the workplace, which while an improvement from previous years, still leaves room for improvement at worksites in the county. Currently, Truman State University ‘s smoking policy does not allow smoking or any kind indoors on campus, but allows smoking 25 feet away from campus buildings. But in the beginning of 2014, the Truman State Board of Governors passed a campus-wide smoking ban both indoors and outdoors to go into effect July 2015. This ban comes three years later than a similar policy at Mizzou University. In fact, the majority of public universities in the state of Missouri have already implemented smoking bans prior to Truman State’s policy.