New Study Proves Campus Smoking Bans Work

Making college and technical school campuses smoke-free has been part of a recent push from the American Lung Association and other groups. Approximately 20% of college students smoke, and many campuses have enacted smoke-free bans or other smoking policies. But do these policies work? According to a recent study by Indiana University, even the policies that are lightly enforced are having a positive effect.
The study compared behavior at two Indiana campuses, one with a smoking ban (Indiana University) and one without (Purdue). The researchers found that smoking rates decreased at Indiana during the two year study, while rates at Purdue increased slightly. Even attitudes toward smoking changed, with 82.1 percent of Indiana University students agreeing that it is good to regulate smoking in public.
The most surprising aspect of the study was that the Indiana smoke-free policy was only lightly enforced, and smokers were seen on campus on a regular basis. Researchers attributed the positive changes to increased awareness of the policy due to media campaigns, signs placed on campus and even a bus wrapped in smoke-free messaging.
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