UNLV launches bid to become tobacco-free campus

John Gurzinski/VIEWA UNLV senior takes a smoke break between classes on Sept. 10 in front of the Student Union. UNLV and Nevada State College are slated to become tobacco-free by spring 2012 with help from grant money UNLV secured through the Southern Nevada Health District. Advertisement

Within two years, the campuses of UNLV and Nevada State College could become completely tobacco-free if the UNLV School of Nursing has its way.

With the help of a $14.6 million grant that the Southern Nevada Health District received from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, UNLV was awarded $450,000 to implement a comprehensive tobacco-free policy at public higher education institutions in Clark County.

The money that the health district received came from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. As part of the grant's requirements, the health district must have community partners, and UNLV, 4505 S. Maryland Parkway, is one.

Nancy York, assistant professor of nursing at UNLV, hopes to have the campus completely tobacco-free by spring 2012. So far, she said, the university is ahead of schedule on its way to meeting that goal.

"One of our initiatives at UNLV is sustainability," York said.

Creating a tobacco-free campus community is an extension of that end goal, said York, because it helps create a healthier overall environment.

The Nevada Clean Indoor Air Act already prohibits indoor smoking at all higher education campuses in the state. York and her team are working to prohibit outdoor smoking a minimum distance from campus buildings, outdoor arenas and near seating and gathering areas. Through a targeted outreach campaign, the team also will work to prevent the sale, distribution or advertisement of tobacco products on area college campuses. A tobacco-free campus also would mean that campus organizations can't accept tobacco industry money to fund events, and there would be no tobacco industry employee recruitment allowed on campus.

The program is part of the CDC's Communities Putting Prevention to Work initiative.

The target goal is to have all Clark County higher education campuses tobacco-free, including Nevada State College, 1125 Nevada State Drive in Henderson, and the College of Southern Nevada, which has three campuses in the Las Vegas Valley: 6375 W. Charleston Blvd., 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave. and 700 College Drive in Henderson. At press time, York hadn't connected with CSN's representatives, though, to determine their level of interest.

Shirlee Snyder, dean of nursing at Nevada State College, said she plans to meet with York in early October to discuss the school's involvement in the initiative. As of yet, no solid plans have been made as far as specific policy, but Snyder wants to get the ball rolling after the meeting.

"We're totally supportive of it," Snyder said.

Snyder said the school plans to pass out literature to students, staff and visitors and will create a website with information on the initiative.

"Tobacco agencies, they really do target young adults," Snyder said.

"I see us becoming a leader in healthy living for the state," said York. "If we can help people quit every tobacco product, that would be great."

UNLV offers free smoking-cessation services to students, faculty and staff members at its Student Recreation and Wellness Center. One-on-one or group cessation help is offered for all types of tobacco use, including hookah, smoking and chewing tobacco.

Rhone D'Errico, a graduate assistant in the UNLV School of Nursing, said he thinks it's become the norm around UNLV to see people not using tobacco.

"This isn't about taking individual rights away," D'Errico said.

Instead, he said the idea is to promote health and wellness among the student population.

"There's enough research at this point that it's very clear that tobacco use has some very real consequences," D'Errico said.

York said she hopes this will prevent college freshmen from having easy access to tobacco. She explained that many students will try the drug in their first year away from home, which can be a time when addiction occurs.

To prepare for the tobacco-free campus, York and a team of volunteers are attempting to educate the college community about what being tobacco-free would mean to UNLV.

To that end, they are distributing informational material throughout the campus and soliciting help from student-run organizations to get the message out.

"They have been incredibly supportive," York said.

UNLV plans to work with the health district on this initiative throughout the next two years.

"They're the experts on why we shouldn't use tobacco ... For us, they're our best resource," York said.

According to York, there are about 240 colleges and universities in the U.S. that have tobacco-free policies, including the University of Kentucky and the University of California, San Francisco.

For more information, visit tobaccofreeunlv.com or e-mail tobacco freeunlv@gmail.com.

Contact View education reporter Laura Emerson at lemerson@viewnews.com or 380-4588.