Summit on Tobacco-Free Campuses

Spark and The American Lung Association in Wisconsin will host a Tobacco-Free Campus Summit on Tuesday, October 30, 2012 in Madison, Wisconsin. The workshop is free of charge, and open to College Administrators, Deans of Student Affairs, Health Services Professionals, Student Leaders and other concerned stakeholders from any post-secondary institution, including four-year and two-year universities, community and technical colleges.

The workshop will help participants understand the benefits of a tobacco-free campus and provide the tools needed to develop and implement a tobacco-free college campus policy.

Bring your team! This workshop is provided at no charge by the American Lung Association in Wisconsin and Spark. Lunch and parking will be included.

A tobacco-free campus policy goes above and beyond the Wisconsin Smoke-Free Air Law required minimums. Absolutely no tobacco-use is permitted on campus, even when walking in between buildings or in open spaces on campus grounds. Comprehensive policies include prohibiting the sale of tobacco products on campus, refusal to accept funding from tobacco companies, and includes all tobacco products.

Tobacco-free campuses are the future of public health and, as places of learning, post-secondary institutions can better prepare students for tobacco-free workplaces, reduce present and future health care costs, encourage overall well-being of their student body and staff and help those using tobacco to quit for good.

A recent report from the Surgeon General found that almost no one starts smoking after the age of 25. A tobacco-free campus encourages healthy decision-making during a time when young people are easily influenced by their peers and are more likely to develop a nicotine addiction. Tobacco-free spaces are proven ways to reduce the number of current smokers and encourage young adults never to start.

Currently, there are 15 post-secondary institutions in Wisconsin with tobacco-free campus policies that cover 57 sites. Click here to see the map. There is great potential, and an increasing interest, to develop tobacco-free campus policies in Wisconsin and across the nation.

Tobacco-related diseases are the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, killing over 7000 Wisconsinites each year according the to Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. The Surgeon General has established that there is no safe level of secondhand smoke exposure. Despite clever advertising, there are no safe forms of tobacco. The facts are clear and we can be the change we want to see on college campuses all over Wisconsin. Please join us for this exciting day of learning.