The effect of a smoke-free campus policy on college students' smoking behaviors and attitudes

Abstract Objective To evaluate the impact of a smoke-free campus policy on college students' smoking behaviors and attitudes. Methods The current study utilized repeated cross-sectional surveys with a nested 4-wave longitudinal cohort design. Data were collected from undergraduate students at t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Preventive medicine 2011-10, Vol.53 (4), p.347-352
Main Authors: Seo, Dong-Chul, Macy, Jonathan T, Torabi, Mohammad R, Middlestadt, Susan E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Attitude to Health
Attitudes
Bans
Cohort Studies
College students
Cross-Sectional Studies
Falls
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Health Behavior
Humans
Indiana
Internal Medicine
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Policy
Prevalence
Regulation
Smoke-free campus policy
Smoking
Smoking - epidemiology
Smoking - psychology
Students
Tobacco Smoke Pollution
Tobacco use
Undergraduate students
Universities
Young Adult
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Summary:Abstract Objective To evaluate the impact of a smoke-free campus policy on college students' smoking behaviors and attitudes. Methods The current study utilized repeated cross-sectional surveys with a nested 4-wave longitudinal cohort design. Data were collected from undergraduate students at two large matched public universities in Indiana before and after one of the campuses went smoke-free in January 2008. Baseline data were collected in fall 2007 ( n = 3266) and follow-up data were collected in fall 2009 ( n = 3207). In addition, volunteers provided longitudinal follow-up data at four different time points. Results In the cross-sectional analyses, students exposed to the smoke-free campus policy demonstrated significant favorable changes in smoking behavior (16.5% to 12.8%, p < 0.001), perceptions of peer tobacco use (73.6% to 66.8%, p < 0.001), and smoking norms (45.5% to 40.4%, p < 0.001) compared to students on the control campus. In the longitudinal analyses, students exposed to the smoke-free campus policy demonstrated these changes plus significant favorable changes in attitudes toward regulation of tobacco (83.2% to 89.9%, p < 0.01). Conclusions The implementation of a smoke-free campus policy may be an effective intervention for reducing tobacco use among college students.
ISSN:0091-7435
1096-0260
DOI:10.1016/j.ypmed.2011.07.015