New York Colleges Hope to Curb Student Smoking

Jason Hamill is 20 years old. Old enough to both expect and understand that there are certain places he just cannot smoke. Still, one place that he expects to be able to light-up is outside of his dorm building, Midrise Hall. "To make students have to go all the way off campus just to smoke would be a complete joke," Hamill said.

Hamill, a sophomore, is among the estimated 15 percent of students at Marist that smoke cigarettes on a regular basis, according to a recent survey. However, efforts by the state of New York could force this number significantly lower in the future. Last month, the board of trustees for the City University of New York passed a vote that will prohibit students and faculty from smoking on all 23 of their campuses.

CUNY, the nation's largest urban higher-education system, joins the growing list of colleges and universities that have enacted smoke-free campus policies. According to the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation, schools with this policy across the United States are numbering at least 466.

This wave of campus bans is part of a movement sparked by the American Lung Association's "Smokefree Air 2010 Challenge", a nationwide campaign that aims to eliminate secondhand smoke in all public places.

"The trend toward a smoke-free country is going on everywhere," Daniel Smith, president of the American Cancer Society Action Network told CNN. "I think college campuses are simply reflecting the same trend we're seeing in society."

Concern for reform has escalated in recent years as the number of college smokers has continued to rise. Less than 30 years ago, about 8 percent of college students smoked regularly, according to a report from the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program. Since then, the number of college smokers has more than doubled. The American Lung Association puts the number at 19 percent, roughly one in five students.

The American College Health Association classifies college students as a high-risk group for smoking, attributing factors such as stress, peer pressure, low self-esteem and weight gain concerns as reasons to why students smoke.

Evelyn Gezo, a certified nutritionist and adjunct health instructor at Marist, believes that for smokers, education of the effects of cigarettes is essential.

"We have to do a better job of educating students why it is not okay to smoke," Gezo said.

At this time, the availability of support and educational programs for students on campus is limited.

"SGA currently has no clubs or interest groups related to smoking or cessation of smoking," said Brittany MacLeod, vice president for club affairs.

Marist is not alone. The Harvard School of Public Health reports that only 40 percent of all colleges and universities offer student smoking cessation programs on their campuses.

However, MacLeod is open to explore the idea.

"SGA could co-sponsor events with Health Services, perhaps through their new program of Wellness Wednesdays," MacLeod said.

Gezo, who also works at Health Services, encourages these student programs as a more effective alternative to a complete campus ban.

"I think a ban would make students rebel," Gezo said. "Once you take a something away, people just want it more.