Area Colleges get Graded on their Tobacco Policies

College Tobacco Report Card sees “Room for Improvement”

(December 3, 2004) –Recognizing that the campus environment can encourage or discourage young adults’ tobacco use, the Tobacco-Free Communities Coalition today released a report grading the strength of tobacco-free policies of 13 area colleges and universities. Another round of grades will be issued to the colleges in May, 2005. The colleges were graded as follows (highest to lowest):

A+	Point Loma Nazarene University
A-	San Diego State University
B	Palomar Community College
B	University of San Diego
B-	University of California San Diego
D	California State University San Marcos
F	Cuyamaca Community College
F	Grossmont Community College
F	Mesa College
F	Mira Costa College
F	Miramar College
F	National University
F	San Diego City College

The Report Card, a first for campuses in California, was created by the American Lung Association in partnership with the Tobacco Free Communities Coalition. The grades have been almost five years in the making, including communications with college administrators and student groups to establish more than two dozen grading criteria.

“Some campuses are leading the way in creating a healthier environment for their students, but too many others have a long way to go,” said Debra Kelley, Vice President for Government Relations at the American Lung Association of San Diego & Imperial Counties. “We applaud the institutions with high grades and urge the other campuses to move forward quickly with policies that will improve the health of tens of thousands of students.”

Though the policies vary, universities are increasingly choosing to designate a “smoke-free” campus rather than having designated smoking areas in order to improve the public health environment of the university community. Smoke-free campus policies do not instruct students on smoking behavior; rather they clearly state a university’s stance on creating a healthy and safe public health environment for all students and faculty.

Tobacco-free advocates said the point of grading was not to embarrass colleges but to underscore the important role they can play in fighting Big Tobacco on behalf of their students. “College campuses, by being less tolerant of tobacco, can help students use less tobacco,” said Frank Manzano of the San Diego-Tijuana Border Initiative, one of the members of the workgroup that surveyed campuses for their policies during the past year.

Nationwide, smoking was up on college campuses from 22.3 % in 1993 to 28.5% in 1998, a rate above the average for all adults. Tobacco companies target college-age students for marketing, and the high smoking rates among young adults (ages 18-24) shows that Big Tobacco’s strategy has worked.

“They study young adult attitudes, lifestyles, values, aspirations, and social patterns with a view toward making smoking a socially acceptable part of the new activities in the lives of young adults,” said Candice Porter, San Dieguito Alliance for Drug Free Youth. Promotions targeting college students, such as tobacco sponsorship of fraternity parties and special tobacco-themed events in college-area bars, contribute to this disturbing trend. A 2003 study found that 46 percent of college students had smoked during the past year. 23.6% of young adults in California are smokers, according to a 2003 study by the California Department of Health Services.

“Life passages” like college are important openings for tobacco marketing. As Philip Morris advertising consultants Young & Rubicam noted in 1994, “significant choice moments in cigarette smoking tend to coincide with critical transition stages in life.” Tobacco marketers have shown they are aware that the stress of such “life passages” are an opportune time to sell the pharmacological effects of nicotine.

Anti-tobacco advocates hope that through anti-tobacco policies, colleges can enable students to resist the marketing pull of the tobacco industry. Research has found that many college smokers are interested in quitting and have tried to quit, but the majority are unsuccessful. Tobacco-resistant college campuses may offer added support to quit, advocates say.

The Tobacco-Free Communities Coalition (TFCC) works in the San Diego region to reduce tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke among San Diego County children, youth, and adults. The TFCC is joined in these efforts by the Tobacco Control Coalition (TCC) and the Tobacco Control Resource Program (TCRP) of the County of San Diego Health & Human Services Agency.

TIMELINE

Development of the Tobacco-Free College Report Card

2000-2001	California’s Department of Health Services (Tobacco Control Services) asks for proposals to address the problem of growing tobacco usage among the young adult (age 18-24) population. The American Lung Association (ALA) of San Diego and Imperial Counties receives funding to develop the state’s first Tobacco-Free College Report Card to measure and motivate change in local campus tobacco policies.
September, 2002	With support from tobacco-free advocates throughout the state, Title V of the State Education Code is amended and the California State University Board of Trustees authorizes individual Cal State Universities to adopt their own tobacco control policies.
2001-2003	The Young Adult Workgroup (YAW) is formed to bring together all community agencies that are funded to address the problem of escalating tobacco use by young adults. These agencies join forces to develop strategies aimed at keeping 18 to 24 year olds tobacco-free, on- and off campus. A major project is developing the criteria and the assessment protocol for the prototype Tobacco-Free College Report Card.
February 2004	YAW members collect the campus baseline data in accordance with the assessment protocol. The data are used to calculate provisional grades for each institution.
March 2004	On behalf of the YAW, the ALA sends letters to college administrators notifying them of the prototype report card criteria and forecasting their grades. A copy of a Model Tobacco-Free College policy is included, along with an offer of technical assistance. Colleges are given the opportunity to verify and update their data and to offer comments and suggestions for the report card.
Mar–Sept 2004	The YAW continues to work with selected colleges to help them improve their polices and achieve a better grade when the report card is released. Some colleges modify or adopt new policies. Criteria are refined to add bonus points and a “citizenship” assessment is added to reflect positive campus efforts.
September 2004	MiraCosta Community College and Point Loma Nazarene University are added to the list of campuses being assessed, for a total of 13 institutions. YAW members revise the campus data in accordance with the assessment protocol. The data are used to calculate grades for each institution.
November 2004	The ALA notifies college administrators of the results.
December 3, 2004	Tobacco-Free College Report Card grades are released to the public and campus audiences.

A new Report Card will be issued in May 2005. Strategies will be pursued to assist all post-secondary institutions in San Diego County to become tobacco-free.

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