NSU Horizons Spring 2012

40 HORIZONS During the spring of 2009, Nova Southeastern University adopted a smoking restriction policy to promote healthy life- styles and ensure clean air around campus buildings, while greatly reducing exposure to secondhand smoke. The Healthy Sharks initiative, which was established to support the policy, prohibited smoking everywhere on campus except at designated smoking sites located at least 50 feet from buildings. Three years later, NSU President and Chief Executive Officer George L. Hanbury II, Ph.D., announced that, on July 1, 2012, NSU will join nearly 400 U.S. colleges and universities to become a tobacco-free cam- pus. “A healthy campus environment is of paramount importance to our university. We believe the adoption of this policy is the right decision and demonstrates our commitment to the well-being of the NSU community,” Hanbury stated in his announcement. NSU is justified in its concern. Statis- tics about the health of tobacco users as reported by the American Cancer Society (ACS) are alarming. The ACS indi- cates that, in the United States, smoking is responsible for nearly one in three cancer deaths and one in five deaths from all causes. Another 8.6 million people live with serious illnesses caused by smoking and the use of tobacco products. The university’s decision to become a tobacco-free campus was finalized after a detailed survey process and exhaustive due diligence. Students and faculty and staff members were extremely vocal during past Town Hall meetings about smokers who did not comply with the designated smoking areas. Further surveys and research con- firmed that the restricted smoking policy was ineffective, as there were multiple smoking violations reported daily, which negatively affected morale and productivity. In early 2010, NSU conducted another survey that asked additional questions about the 2009 policy revision and smoking zones. The survey indicated that, recognizing the harm from secondhand smoke, 65.75 percent of the respondents were in favor of prohibiting smoking on campus. Of note, only 9 percent of the NSU community indi- cated they were smokers. So what happens to this 9 percent on July 1 when they can no longer smoke or use tobacco products on campus—even in parked cars? Those who want to quit the nicotine habit may take advantage of the free tobacco cessation programs and resources, including nonprescription nico- tine replacement therapy (e.g., patch, gum, lozenges) that NSU offers. These programs and counseling sessions are offered in a variety of formats, such as individual and group sessions on an on- going basis. For more information, visit www .nova.edu/tobacco-free/tobacco-cessation -resources.html , call (954) 262-5860, or email quitsmokingnow@nova.edu . To read more about NSU’s new policy, visit www .nova.edu/tobacco-free. AROUND CAMPUS NSU Becomes a Tobacco-Free Campus in 2012 BY MARA L. KIFFIN Source: American Cancer Society