Your editorial on Monday about a smoke-free campus policy fails to mention that Syracuse University students and employees were surveyed about this issue. In May 2010, the Onondaga County Department of Health contracted with Joel LaLone Consulting to conduct a study of tobacco-related attitudes and behaviors. SU’s Office of Institutional Research and Assessment distributed the survey to a random selection of all student and employee email addresses; 1,167 SU students participated, yielding the following findings:

• 82 percent of SU students are bothered by tobacco litter on campus.

• 90 percent of SU students have been exposed to secondhand smoke during the month.

• 81 percent of SU students are bothered by secondhand smoke.

• 58 percent of SU students favor a future policy that would prohibit tobacco use on all campus grounds (including outdoor areas)..

The margin of error was ±2.5 percent. The confidence interval was 95 percent.

The Colleges for Change program has been working to raise awareness about the affect of tobacco use throughout the year. More than 1,000 SU students and employees have signed a petition in support of a 100 percent tobacco-free campus policy. S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications students have conducted focus groups and surveys to collect more qualitative information about student attitudes on tobacco use.

The Student Association is only one of many concerned groups on campus working on this initiative.

Syracuse University Tobacco Advisory Committee

 

Published on May 2, 2011 at 12:00 pm