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Despite continued controversy surrounding the Tobacco Free Campus Initiative, recent open forums covering the proposed policy have seen meager audiences.
The Tobacco Free Campus Committee has hosted two open forums since Faculty Senate voted to delay implementation of the initiative. The Feb. 8 forum saw fewer than 40 attendees, several of whom were committee members, and the Feb. 18 forum had an audience of 23.
Polly Moutevelis-Burgess, who co-heads the committee, said the attendance at the Feb. 8 meeting “wasn’t as strong as I thought it would be.”
The forums were scheduled after Faculty Senate’s University Environment Committee recommended more public input at its Jan. 27 meeting. The senate asked the Tobacco Free Campus Committee to gather more data and input from the University of Maine community and is wary about unknowns surrounding the initiative, including complications with quitting tobacco use and traveling off campus to smoke.
“We would never, ever tell people that this is what you should do, that you should get in vehicles and go off campus and things like that. It’s not up to us; that is up to the individual to talk about and deal with themselves,” said Lauri Sidelko, director of Alcohol and Drug Education Programs at UMaine.
Dan Belknap, head of the University Environment Committee, expressed concerns about the issue of enforcing a tobacco-free policy for campus visitors, including entertainers at the Collins Center for the Arts. He said the committee’s main concern surrounding the proposed policy has been the marginalization of smokers and whether allowing a further restraint on smoking would be too much.
At the Feb. 18 forum, Moutevelis-Burgess and Sidelko said the policy, if adopted, would be implemented over three years. During the first year, the initiative would be announced. The second year would ask for voluntary compliance. The third year would likely mean full implementation of the policy, but Moutevelis-Burgess noted enforcement is up to the UMaine administration.
The initiative is part of a larger effort to turn UMaine into “a healthy place to learn, work and live,” according to an informational packet that was available at the forums. Sidelko said the committee hopes the policy will help reduce health insurance and health care costs for the UMaine community. According to Belknap, the senate did not see an immediate benefit to health insurance policies and feels secondhand smoke is a small problem on campus.
The committee enlisted the aid of a consultant for 20 hours of work. The consultant helped the committee gather information.
Approximately 350 college campuses in the United States are tobacco-free. Of those, Kennebec Valley Community College is the only campus in Maine. Several colleges were consulted by the committee on how similar policies have worked, including the University of North Dakota, the University of Arkansas and Ozark Community College. Moutevelis-Burgess said many of them reported a drop in tobacco use after implementing policies.
The impact of enrollment was an issue the committee discussed with other colleges. Moutevelis-Burgess said not being able to smoke on campus could affect potential students’ decisions to come to UMaine, where students who smoke might choose to attend a different college.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tobacco-related health complications cause more deaths than any other health issue in the United States, including complications from HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol, car injuries, suicide and murders combined.
A report released this year by Maine Department of Health and Human Services showed that one-third of youths who begin smoking cigarettes become addicted, and one-third of youths who continue to smoke will suffer a tobacco-related death. According to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, approximately 2,200 Maine adults die from tobacco-related diseases each year. Of those deaths, 190 are caused by exposure to secondhand smoke.
The committee insists that forcing people to quit smoking is not its intent. The initiative is meant to prevent people from smoking on campus, not prevent them from smoking at all, Sidelko said.
“A person does not need to quit smoking,” Sidelko said.
Moutevelis-Burgess said smoking is a person’s right and “we need to respect that.”
Belknap’s committee voiced concerns that the initiative is more about punishing smokers than encouraging community members to choose healthier lifestyles. The committee has not recommended smokers carpool off campus to smoke.
During the question and answer portion of the Feb. 8 forum, student Sen. Nathaniel Wildes voiced his opinion on the issue of enforcement.
“When entertainers came, especially to the CCA, we informed them that smoking was prohibited,” and they were understanding, Wildes said. Liza Minnelli – an American singer and actress — was the most recent performer allowed to smoke in a dressing room when she performed in 2006.
Wildes also expressed concerns about the existing rule that requires people to smoke 20 feet away from building entries.
“Making smoking not allowed on campus won’t stop people from smoking. It will just change the places they do it,” said nonsmoking student Isaac Barnes, suggesting smokers might move to dorm rooms or on-campus apartments.
Moutevelis-Burgess said the committee is not expecting 100 percent compliance. “That’s unrealistic,” she said.
The UMaine Tobacco Free Campus Initiative is now in the hands of President Robert Kennedy, who will determine whether to put the initiative into effect. The initiative could be implemented as early as January 2011.
