By Mary Whitfill, News Staff
In an effort to obtain student support and hear opposing arguments, the smoke-free campus initiative committee held a question and answer panel on Tuesday, and the university announced a new smoking cessation program for students.
Led by Bouvé College of Health Sciences Dean Terry Fulmer and Director of the Institute on Urban Health Research John Auerbach, the hour-and-a-half-long forum addressed issues the committee has faced since the initiative’s introduction late last year.
The most common discussion topics were that of smoking cessation options available to students through both University Health and Counseling Services (UHCS) and the Northeastern University Student Health Plan, and how the university would encourage adherence to any new policies that could be implemented.
Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Madeleine Estabrook at the meeting announced the unveiling of a new smoking cessation program to be available to all students.
“I am very excited to announce that the leadership of UHCS is about to launch a new program called Ready to Quit!, that will be implemented on Feb. 1,” Estabrook said. “[Ready to Quit!] is a customized program for students that incorporates text messaging, coming in for follow-up visits and having the opportunity to meet with nurses and well as medical and behavioral health staff. It will also provide nicotine replacement products for free.”
Ready to Quit!, in addition to other preexisting services, is aimed to serve as a helpful guide to students seeking a lifestyle change. While a majority of the forum’s attendees responded positively to the introduction of this new program, the debate continued as to whether or not a smoke-free campus was the right decision for Northeastern students.
“We were concerned that there was not enough being done to prevent students from beginning to smoke and help them to quit. We are very happy to hear about the Ready to Quit! program, but we disagree that a completely smoke free campus is the most appropriate way to address the problem,” Jess Cochrane, co-founder of the NU Law School chapter of Students for Sensible Drug Policy, said. “The harms of smoking can be addressed with alternative methods such as designated smoking areas coupled with the moving of ash trays away from building entrances.”
A common argument for the smoke-free initiative was that allowing students to smoke on campus puts nonsmokers at risk.
“The surgeon general has said that no amount of secondhand smoke is safe and with that in mind we must do everything we can to prevent a tragedy from occurring on our campus, “law student Chris Stuck-Girard said. “A smoke-free campus is the best step Northeastern can take and it can work. If you know of a harm reduction measure, you take it.”
Attendees often mentioned a compromise between the two viewpoints, isolating smokers to less frequently used parts of campus. Participants argued that separating smokers and nonsmokers would not infringe on students’ rights and would not put those who don’t smoke at risk.
In response, Auerbach explained where exactly students would still be allowed to smoke even if the ban was passed.
“The only land that the university controls is university-specific property,” Auerbach said. “We don’t have the ability to have any kind of a ban on public property. Public property includes the sidewalks of city streets and the streets themselves including Forsyth and Columbus. Those areas would not be affected by any policy that Northeastern adopted.”
The problem of enforcement was one that came up often. Forum attendees were curious as to who would be expected to enforce the smoke ban and what punishment would stand for those who failed to comply.
“We don’t have the answers yet,” Auerbach said. “Asking those questions is helpful to the committee and highlights what should be addressed. We aren’t there yet, we are still in our research phase.”
Fulmer wrapped up the session by encouraging students to visit the smoke-free campus initiative site on Northeastern’s webpage and reach out to the committee via Facebook and Twitter.
“It seems that this creates a separation between smokers and nonsmokers, but what I think this conversation can lead to is respect and respect for people in various situations,” senior behavioral neuroscience major Kevin Franciotti said. “The important thing is to keep this conversation going and the inclusion of everyone involved whoever that may be.”
