News
Hub Opinion: Students may snuff out tobacco at UNK
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Kearney Hub
We are big fans of college students becoming active in campus movements, organizing themselves and getting behind issues of importance, so it is gratifying to witness the UNK Peer Health Education group pushing for a smoke-free campus at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
The Peer Health group has been exploring the tobacco-free question for a couple of years and discovered that 1,100 U.S. campuses already have tobacco-free policies in place, including the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
UNK already has tobacco restrictions. The Kearney campus’ Clean Air Policy prohibits tobacco use in UNK vehicles and facilities, and within 10 feet of entrances or work sites on the grounds. UNL and UNO have similar policies. UNL also restricts tobacco use in “halos” around two larger buildings.
Today, the Peer Health group launched a two-day email poll to gauge how many UNK students favor a tobacco-free campus. If there’s a strong positive response, the group plans to ask the Chancellor’s Cabinet to consider declaring UNK a tobacco-free campus. Such a declaration would bring about profound changes and challenge tobacco users to kick their habits. Of course, any prohibition is going to be second-guessed. Some tobacco users might openly violate it. Some tobacco users believe it’s their own decision whether to smoke or chew, but that attitude is becoming less and less prevalent whenever a business or other organization decides to try being tobacco-free.
In the corporate world, CVS Pharmacy recently decided that selling tobacco products was counter to its basic mission of providing products that help people to get well and to live healthier lives. CVS reasoned it was hypocritical selling tobacco products that are health risks.
Some observers greeted CVS’s decision with skepticism. They asked how a company could afford to give up its profitable tobacco sales, but the public’s reaction seems to have been worth the risk. Reactions to the CVS decision have been overwhelmingly positive.
Should UNK enact a tobacco-free campus, we would hope the public’s reaction would be similarly affirmative, although there would likely be holdouts and the usual sneaking around to beat the system.
The student Peer Health group certainly has done it’s preparations and has anticipated some of the fallout. Siding with the tobacco-free campus proposal are two influential Kearney organizations: the Tobacco Free Coalition and UNK’s Health Education Office.
So brace yourself, UNK supporters. Next time you visit campus, you might be asked to check your tobacco at the door.
