A Smoke Free Initiative

This past Thursday (November 12) I attended the "Smoke Free University Session" which was at 4:30 P.M. in Palmer Commons. The session's goal was to create an open discussion in which diverse opinions can be heard. This session is the first of many sessions to discuss the Smoking Ban on all UM Campuses (Ann Arbor, Dearborn and Flint). These sessions are the first step taken by the Smoke Free University Steering Committee, which was formed by President Coleman after her announcement of the smoking ban, which will be effective July 1, 2011. The decision for the ban was made by President Coleman to fulfill her goal of a healthy campus community. The Steering Committee, who conducted this session, was not involved in the decision of a smoke free campus, but has been elected by President Coleman to decide the best way to carry out this goal.

The Steering Committee has two co-chairs: Kenneth Warner, Dean of the School of Public Health, and Robert Winfield, U-M Chief Health Officer and Director of the University Health Service. Mr. Warner was present at the session, but his co-chair Mr. Winfield was unable to attend. Mr. Warner sat at the front of the room in the middle of a panel, with various people on either side of him who are the chairs of the various sub-committees, which include:

(1) Faculty, Staff and Affairs

(2) Guests, Events and Athletics

(3) Facilities and Grounds

(4) Student Life

(5) Communications

(Note: when I looked at the Smoke Free Initiative web site, the committee names were slightly different from what the chairs said at this session)

These sub-committees each have about twenty people, with members consisting of: faculty, staff, union representatives, students, smokers, non-smokers and those who have quit smoking. The Student Life Sub-Committee in particular has student representatives from various University Student Organizations, such as: MSA (Michigan Student Assembly), Greek Life and various other undergraduate and graduate students.

This move of the University to go completely smoke free is not seen as a drastic decision, but rather the next step in regulation:

*1987: U-M first adopted a University-wide ban on smoking in buildings (except several designated residence halls) and University vehicles

*1998: Health System prohibited smoking on the grounds and in public places

*2003: RHA (Residence Hall Association) eliminated smoking from all residence halls

*2010: All U-M Campuses will be smoke free

There is also a timeline that the committee will be following in their implementation process:

- Open discussion sessions, such as the one I recently attended

- Focus groups

- Committee's recommendation will be presented to President Coleman in Fall 2010

- Full blown implementation will be July 1, 2011

After the Committee presented this information a Q & A session followed.

A good question that was asked was how does the University plan to implement this policy, and how does it plan on dealing with multiple offenders of the policy?

The committee says that they will be seeking compliance through good will, and that no tickets will be given out to offenders. They are hoping this most recent decision will be a situation similar to previous smoking restrictions, in which enforcement was a non-issue. They say this is an issue that is currently being examined, but that their goal is not to be punitive but to leverage educational opportunities. The committee says they are respectful of those who continue to smoke, but that free behavioral counseling will be offered to students and faculty along with discounts of smoking smoking cessation products. Upon looking on the web site for such services, I found a free support group, but Tobacco Treatment Programs cost $100 for anyone who is not a U-M Employee or a patient with a UMHS Physician Referral. I did not see any offering of discounted smoking cessation products, but perhaps such products and more services will be available as we approach the date of the actual smoking ban.

When asked why this decision was made, one of the women sitting on the panel offered a different answer than President Coleman's goal of a healthy campus community: "Those who choose to smoke cost the University Money." That made me wonder, what truly is the University's goal? Could the true goal be about economics, and the added health benefits of a smoke free campus is simply a perk that goes along with it? Consider this except from the news release found on the Smoke Free Initiative's web site:

"There’s a strong business case for encouraging employees to quit smoking. Male smokers miss 3.9 more days of work per year than non-smoking males, and female smokers miss an additional 2.1 days of work per year. A 1996 study by Warner and colleagues also found that workplace smoking cessation programs reduce health care costs, absenteeism costs, on-the-job productivity losses and life insurance costs."

One woman, who named herself as the President of the Nurses Union and a smoker, voiced her concern that there be a places for nurses to smoke. As a smoker of course, her comments to the committee seemed a tad bitter, but she made an excellent point that received many nods of agreement from those attending the session:

"I don't want anybody telling me how to live my life. A lot of people don't."

Although this may be true, a smoke free University is no longer an idea, but a goal that will be reached by July 2011. If you would like to attend a session such as the one I attended, there will be another session this Thursday, November 19. Click here to find more information and to sign up if you are interested.