Developing Policy
Advocate for a Comprehensive Tobacco-Free Policy
A comprehensive 100% tobacco-free policy includes commercial tobacco in all its forms, like cigarettes, cigars, hookah, chew, e-cigarettes, and vaping devices. Here’s why passing a comprehensive policy is important:
It’s Healthier for Everyone
While cigarette use has decreased, many people are still exposed to secondhand smoke and aerosol from e-cigarettes and the health harms of other tobacco products. Comprehensive tobacco-free policies are effective in reducing exposure to secondhand smoke and aerosol and have been linked to lower smoking rates.
Smoke-free Is Not Enough
It’s not just cigarettes anymore. New tobacco products are introduced all the time; many of them are designed to get around smoke-free policies.
It’s Clear-Cut
The easier a rule is to understand, the easier it is to follow. Adopting a comprehensive 100% tobacco-free campus policy makes it that much easier for institutions to implement and enforce.
Learn the 3 Phases of Policy Implementation
The most effective tobacco-free campus policies are well thought out, successfully implemented, and actively promoted (which may mean direct enforcement on some campuses). SPARK has identified three phases every institution experiences along the way to becoming a tobacco-free campus:
#1: Environmental Assessment
Each campus needs to determine if they are ready to begin the tobacco-free campus policy process. Launching a campus-wide tobacco-free campus survey will help answer that question. This is also the time to start building relationships with possible partners within the campus community and to gauge the campus environment and political climate.
#2: Policy Adoption
In this phase, campus advocates begin taking steps to bring the proposed tobacco-free policy into action. SPARK has model policy language for advocates to work with. It is important to maintain momentum among group members and campus networks in this stage. Reaching out to campus/community media sources is crucial in promoting the need for a tobacco-free campus and educating campus leaders on such a policy.
#3: Long-term Implementation
The work doesn’t end once a tobacco-free campus policy is passed. The key to successful implementation is education. If the campus community is educated on the policy, they are much more likely to comply with the policy. In this stage it is important to focus on education, promotion, and policy compliance. Implementation activities include educating the campus community on the policy, updating or adding applicable signage, and revising policy language in campus written materials and websites (including campus catalogs, course schedules, and employee and student manuals).
Once a comprehensive policy is firmly in place, it’s important to help your campus community members live tobacco-free…