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Sep 7, 2008 |
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Free Times Columbia - Issue #21.36 :: 09/03/2008 - 09/09/2008
by : Ron Aiken
Buoyed by Richland County, the City of Columbia and other municipalities across South Carolina going smoke free, the University of South Carolina has begun enforcing its smoking ban with citations and fines this semester.
The ban, enacted in August 2006, prohibits smoking in campus buildings, outdoor areas designated for eating and university vehicles. Outside, smoking is limited to 25 feet away from buildings.
Until this semester the ban had not been enforced as the university concentrated on getting the word out about it.
?The policy is in place, but we?re focused on making sure they?re aware that there is a policy and that there are penalties,? says Michele Burcin, director of Healthy Carolina, a task force of faculty, staff and students that works to foster wellness on campus.
Those caught violating the ban by campus security will be issued a citation and, in the case of students, possibly fined by the school?s judiciary board.
Burcin says the amount of a fine would depend on a violator?s track record. ?The first instance would merit a warning, and after that fines could be levied.?
Burcin says citations are in triplicate, with copies going into faculty and student disciplinary files.
?People say they have a God-given right to smoke, but others have a God-given right not to breathe other people?s smoke. It?s a teachable moment because we?re preparing them for workplaces where smoking isn?t permitted.
Every two years USC works with the American College Health Association to conduct a survey asking students if they smoked and how often.
The most recent results are encouraging, Burcin says. ?Our percentage of people who had smoked in the past 30 days dropped from 23 percent to 18 percent, which is tremendous.?
That brings USC in line with the national average, which was 17.9 percent in 2006.
Along those lines, Burcin says Healthy Carolina has been working to develop benchmarks for USC based on policies at comparable schools. ?We?ve looked at the policies of other [Southeastern Conference] schools and really found that they run the gamut from nothing at all to completely smoke free.?
Burcin says she hopes that USC, through lobbying by Healthy Carolina and other campus groups, will adopt an entirely smoke-free campus within the next 16 to 18 months.
USC Upstate plans to begin enforcing a smoke-free campus Nov. 20 and, also in the Upstate, Lander University already has made the move.
Smoking education is a critical component of USC?s ban.
To that end, the Healthy Carolina task force has incorporated Why We Smoke, a documentary produced by USC media arts professor Susan Hogue, into the University 101 curriculum. Screened at the Nickelodeon Theatre in July, Why We Smoke focuses on the psychological and behavioral dimensions of the habit.
?Nowadays students know that smoking can kill them, so the film really tried to get at the ?why? of the issue, why they find it attractive,? Burcin says. ?We?re already using it in University 101 classrooms and other classes dealing with health issues. It?s a great tool.?
The film was funded by the USC art department and the South Carolina Tobacco Collaborative.
The collaborative, a statewide coalition dedicated to reducing the toll of tobacco on South Carolina, views USC?s efforts to curb smoking as essential for the future health of the state, according to Lauren Vincent, a board member of the collaborative and spokeswoman for Healthy Carolina.
?We really hope this will have a domino effect, much like we saw with one municipality following another in banning smoking in bars and restaurants,? she says. ?It?s just a matter of time and education.?
USC?s efforts come at a time when the state legislature has slashed its funding for smoking cessation programs. Thanks to a downturn in the economy and the inability of the state to raise the lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax, the former $2 million allocated for such programs (good for 45th in the nation) was eliminated entirely this year, leaving only South Carolina and Connecticut as states which spend nothing on smoking prevention and cessation efforts. |
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