Montana State University, Bozeman: Smoke-free Residence
Halls
Public university located in Bozeman, Montana
Enrollment: Approximately 12,000 students
Fraternity/sorority membership: Approximately
3% of students
Gender breakdown: Male: 54%, Female: 46%
Racial breakdown: Caucasian: 87%, Hispanic:
1%, African American: <1%, Asian American: 2%, Native Alaskan
or American Indian: 2%, International: 3%, Other: <1%,
Unknown: 6%
Summary:
Policy/Program Description: After
a series of other smoke-free policy changes on campus during
the 1990s, Montana State University, Bozeman (MSU) prohibited
smoking in residence halls beginning in Fall 2001. Background.
Smoke-free residence hall policies at MSU occurred as part
of a larger “domino effect” of increasingly restrictive
smoking policies on campus, including a smoking ban in the
Strand Union Building (SUB) and the prohibition of campus
tobacco sales. Strategy for Action.
With the support of key campus personnel and a community advocacy
group, the director of Residence Life decided to make residence
halls smoke-free. The decision was based on research about
the health effects of smoking and secondhand smoke and the
knowledge that most of MSU’s benchmark schools had smoke-free
residence halls. Outcomes.
Students have generally complied with the policy changes.
Initial protests about smokers’ rights, consistent with
the libertarian sentiments of the region, have abated. Smoking
rates have decreased slightly, as has damage to the interior
of residence halls. Future Plans.
MSU is now in the process of addressing complaints about smoke-clouds
near building entrances. In addition, the impassioned off-campus
debate about a smoke-free Bozeman continues and will likely
have implications for the campus.
Background:
Increasingly restrictive policies related to indoor smoking
at MSU led to the implementation of the smoke-free residence
hall policy. Three major changes over the course of five or
six years set the stage for the establishment of smoke-free
residence halls: (1) the Strand Union Building (SUB) smoking
ban in the late 1990s, (2) the prohibition of campus tobacco
sales, and (3) the refusal by the campus president to allow
tobacco products and promotional items to be distributed on
campus during the National College Rodeo Finals, resulting
in the withdrawal of the rodeo finals from Bozeman by the
rodeo sponsor – Skoal).
Prohibiting smoking in the Strand Union Building
(SUB). In the 1990s, a clinician from MSU’s
Student Health Services led efforts to make the SUB smoke-free,
citing public health concerns. At that time, MSU was one of
the only schools in the region that continued to allow smoking
in the student union and residence halls. The head of the
SUB, who may have been open to the smoke-free proposal in
part due to personal connections with health services staff,
enacted the policy change.
Upon hearing of the policy change, students formed a “smokers’
rights club.” They proposed that a room in the SUB remain
a smoking lounge and agreed to provide a ventilation system
to draw the smoke out. However, the installed ventilation
system failed to work, blowing smoke into nonsmoking sections
of the SUB. Shortly thereafter, the head of the SUB decided
to prohibit smoking throughout the building.
Ban of tobacco sales on campus.
About the same time that smoking was prohibited in the SUB,
a proposition passed to halt sales of tobacco products in
the campus bookstore, eliminating the sale of all tobacco
products on campus.
Withdrawal of the National College Rodeo finals
in Bozeman. For many years, MSU hosted the National
College Rodeo, an annual event that attracted thousands of
people to the Bozeman area. The event was sponsored by Skoal
smokeless tobacco, and was not affiliated with the National
Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Skoal regularly passed
out samples of smokeless tobacco and other promotional items
in the MSU field house during the rodeo, which prompted growing
concern amongst MSU staff and faculty about tobacco distribution
to minors and the mixed message of having tobacco samples
distributed on a campus that banned tobacco sales. As a result,
MSU president Michael Malone declared that the campus would
no longer host the Rodeo if tobacco sample distribution continued.
The Rodeo withdrew, causing dissatisfaction among community
members who had reaped the economic benefits of the rodeo.
The rodeo has since attempted to relocate to other communities,
but has been unsuccessful. Despite the community uproar, President
Malone’s stance marked MSU’s commitment to campus
tobacco policies.
Back to Summary
Strategy for Action:
Cognizant of liability issues, as well as the smoke-free policies
of other benchmark schools, the Director of Residence Life
made the decision to implement the residence halls smoke-free
policy. The same clinician who supported a smoke-free SUB
and most campus administrations supported the Director’s
decision. Though the administration made the ultimate decision
about the policy, students were consulted during the policy
change process.
Committee Work. “Tobacco-Free
Bozeman,” a community initiative with a history of collaborating
with MSU health proponents, lent support to the smoke-free
residence hall proposal. Since 12,000 of Bozeman’s 33,000
residents are college students, community policy change impacts
the campus, and vice-versa.
Needs Assessment. Changes in tobacco
policy in the residence halls were largely influenced by the
smoke-free status of other benchmark schools. In addition,
research about environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) countered
popular arguments that individual choice dictated the right
to smoke. Finally, research findings from the Harvard College
Alcohol Study, which revealed that smoke-free residence halls
reduce initiation of smoking by as much as 40%, prompted the
change.
Implementing and Communicating the Policy Change.
The policy change became official in summer 2001. Thus, students
arriving and returning in Fall 2001 entered smoke-free residence
halls. The argument that there is no safe level of tobacco
use was put forward to encourage support for the policy. Cigarette
butt receptacles have been installed outside of residence
halls, and signs have been posted throughout campus to indicate
new smoke-free areas.
Enforcement. Enforcement has been
the most challenging aspect of creating a smoke-free environment
at MSU. Early on, signs indicating the 25 foot smoke-free
perimeter around the SUB were routinely vandalized. However,
these types of violations have decreased substantially since
current students are more accustomed to the smoke-free policies.
The 25-foot perimeter policy now includes all campus academic
buildings.
Back to Summary
Outcomes:
Early negative student reaction to the campus tobacco policies
has substantially diminished. Some observers suggested that
early opposition to the policy may have been due to the prevailing
libertarian culture on campus. Letters to the editor indicated
concerns that MSU had failed to gather sufficient student
input. Most of the students who attended MSU when the policies
went into effect have graduated, and incoming students have
adjusted easily to campus smoking restrictions. Now, less
than 1% of residence hall violations are related to smoking,
indicating student acceptance of the policy.
Overall, the smoke-free policies have had a positive impact
on campus. MSU’s maintenance staff has noticed a reduction
in damages, such as carpet cigarette burns within the residence
halls. Finally, there are indications that smoking rates among
students may be slowly decreasing. According to a National
College Health Association web survey conducted at MSU in
2003, 58.5% of students reported never having smoked cigarettes,
compared to 56.0% in 2000. Rates of use in the past 30 days
as well as daily cigarette use also decreased among students
between 2000 and 2003.
Back to Summary
Future Plans:
To encourage students to comply with perimeter policies, MSU
installed cigarette butt receptacles at least 25 feet from
campus buildings in March 2004. MSU also plans to continue
to address the problem of students smoking too close to building
entrances.
Students continue to be influenced by policies in the larger
community. Tavern owners and public health advocates battle
over the rights of smokers and nonsmokers. The results of
the off-campus policy conflict will affect MSU students, as
the campus and small Bozeman community are closely linked.
For more information on MSU’s tobacco policies,
contact:
Jenny Haubenreiser
Director of Health Promotion
hoss@montana.edu
This case study was written in June 2004.
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