DE PERE, WI (WTAQ) – A new strategy implemented next year at St. Norbert College will provide students and staff with clean air.
The university will be joining 26 other colleges in Wisconsin on Jan. 2, 2019 when it becomes 100 percent tobacco-free.
The university says it wanted to make sure they had student support before ushering in any changes.
“We talked with several student groups, as well as student government, and got their support in proposing a tobacco-free campus,” says Tom Doughman, assistant director of counseling services at St. Norbert College.
Leaders within the university first eyed this change around 18 months ago.
“The first step that we took was to reach out to the students and to ask them what it was that they thought would be appropriate,” he explains.
The student body supported the movement, which might not be surprising considering recent data collected by the American Health Association.
A recent survey found that less than 7-percent of St. Norbert College students had used tobacco products in the past 30 days.
“For the most part it’s [smoking] not that big of an issue for them [students], in terms of current usage,” he says.
The usage of tobacco products among the student body is minimal, which mirrors the steady decline in cigarette smoking nationwide, especially amongst young adults.
While cigarette smoking is in full decline, other forms of tobacco smoking are gaining in popularity.
“The use of electronic nicotine delivery systems, or what we would call a vape (or an electronic cigarette), those are increasing,” says Doughman.
E-cigarettes, along with traditional cigarettes, both fall under the colleges new entirely tobacco-free policy.
The new policy will continue “old” practices, such as restrictions of smoking inside campus buildings or classrooms, while also eliminating the previously designated outdoor areas for smoking.
Also being added into the fold, are two grants from the American Lung Association in Wisconsin, which have been received by the college.
Those grants, which total $3,000, will work to educate students and promote a tobacco-free campus.
University officials believe that the entirely tobacco-free environment will address dimensions of overall environmental, physical, social, and emotional wellness.
