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More than 75 percent of students surveyed at The University of Texas at Austin support joining the trend toward tobacco free colleges and university, according to an online survey conducted recently by the UT-Austin Public Health Club student organization.
Among 1,551 respondents to an online survey of the campus community, 77 percent expressed support for a change to the current tobacco policy. Of those about two thirds want a complete ban of tobacco use on campus. The current policy only addresses smoking, which is prohibited in any university-owned or leased buildings or vehicles, but allows smoking outside as long as it is 20 feet from an entrance.
“The response was overwhelming, we simply have to change,” said Alfred McAlister, Ph.D., project advisor and professor of health promotion and behavioral sciences at The University of Texas School of Public Health Austin Regional campus. “It is understandable tobacco users don’t want change, but the vast majority want a better policy.” McAlister noted that that about nine percent of respondents were tobacco users opposing stricter measures and that many Texas campuses are already tobacco free.
The Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas, which provides millions of dollars for cancer research throughout Texas, is now asking all funding recipients to create tobacco free workplaces by Aug. 31, 2012.
McAlister notes many Texas campuses are already tobacco free. The School of Public Health Austin Regional campus is part of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth).
The survey was carried out in a partnership between the UT-Austin Texas Public Health undergraduate student organization, UTHealth School of Public Health Austin Regional Campus and the Austin-Travis County Department of Health and Human Services.
In March 2011, Student Government passed a resolution asking administration to take steps to make UT Austin a smoke-free campus, joining more than 450 college campuses around the country that have already passed similar bans.
