Health News
- Western Kentucky University Will Gradually Become Tobacco Free; Last Public University In Kentucky To Do So
Western Kentucky University will slowly go tobacco-free by 2018 through a phased-in approach, becoming the last public university in the state to do so, Lisa Autry reports for WKU Public Radio. "Although I've never smoked, I know how addictive nicotine...
- Russell County School Board Makes All Campuses Tobacco-free, But Delays Implementation For One Year
The Russell County Board of Education has voted to make all the county's school campuses tobacco-free a year from now, "After some lengthy discussion by the board and visitors," The Times Journal of Russell Springs reports. The vote was 4-0, with...
- 10 Years Ago, Lexington's Smoking Ban Started Creating A Healthier City And A Movement Among Others In Kentucky
A decade ago, Lexington took a bold step by enacted the state's first public smoking ban, in a city that once proudly touted its status as the "World's largest burley tobacco market." As smoke-free supporters and Lexington residents celebrate...
- Lack Of Statewide Smoking Ban Represents One Part Of Kentucky's Struggle To Deal With Tobacco Use And The Health Issues It Creates
By Molly BurchettKentucky Health News As the bill for a statewide smoking ban lies on its deathbed in the General Assembly, new federal data show Kentucky still has the highest percentage of smokers (29 percent) of any state, leads the nation in the share...
- Smoke-free Campuses Are A Growing Trend; Uk Volunteers Taking Action To Get Compliance With Ban Enacted Nearly Two Years Ago
This summer, Tobacco-free Take Action! volunteers at the University of Kentucky have been circling campus, asking students to put out their cigarettes while on school property. UK is one of about 530 U.S. colleges that have enacted smoke-free policies....
Health News
UK quickens drumbeat of tobacco-free policy through report line
The University of Kentucky promotes compliance and enforcement of its tobacco-free policy through a community report line, among many other measures. Although the report line was established last spring, its mention in recent campus communications suggests a hightened emphasis on compliance measures.
The line to report violations of the smoking ban engages the community in developing an environment in which compliance is expected, said Dr. Ellen Hahn, a nursing professor and co-chair of UK's Tobacco-free Taskforce and director of its Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy.
"Since these policies are self-enforcing, we need a mechanism by which everyone on campus can easily report violations," Hahn said. "Most people do not feel comfortable approaching a violator, so this is a way to encourage everyone to be involved in promoting compliance." She said the report line was a suggested "best practice" from other campuses with similar policies.
Implementation of the policy, the ultimate goal of the policy is to promote a healthy place to live, work and learn, has been a success, Hahn said: The air is healthier, and exposure to secondhand smoke has decreased. Also, since the policy was established in the fall of 2009, there has been a four-fold increase in the use of nicotine replacement to quit using tobacco, and UK has many low- or no-cost options to help students and employees do so.
Click here to report a violation of the tobacco-free policy, here for a tobacco-free brochure.
The line to report violations of the smoking ban engages the community in developing an environment in which compliance is expected, said Dr. Ellen Hahn, a nursing professor and co-chair of UK's Tobacco-free Taskforce and director of its Kentucky Center for Smoke-free Policy.
"Since these policies are self-enforcing, we need a mechanism by which everyone on campus can easily report violations," Hahn said. "Most people do not feel comfortable approaching a violator, so this is a way to encourage everyone to be involved in promoting compliance." She said the report line was a suggested "best practice" from other campuses with similar policies.
Implementation of the policy, the ultimate goal of the policy is to promote a healthy place to live, work and learn, has been a success, Hahn said: The air is healthier, and exposure to secondhand smoke has decreased. Also, since the policy was established in the fall of 2009, there has been a four-fold increase in the use of nicotine replacement to quit using tobacco, and UK has many low- or no-cost options to help students and employees do so.
Click here to report a violation of the tobacco-free policy, here for a tobacco-free brochure.
- Western Kentucky University Will Gradually Become Tobacco Free; Last Public University In Kentucky To Do So
Western Kentucky University will slowly go tobacco-free by 2018 through a phased-in approach, becoming the last public university in the state to do so, Lisa Autry reports for WKU Public Radio. "Although I've never smoked, I know how addictive nicotine...
- Russell County School Board Makes All Campuses Tobacco-free, But Delays Implementation For One Year
The Russell County Board of Education has voted to make all the county's school campuses tobacco-free a year from now, "After some lengthy discussion by the board and visitors," The Times Journal of Russell Springs reports. The vote was 4-0, with...
- 10 Years Ago, Lexington's Smoking Ban Started Creating A Healthier City And A Movement Among Others In Kentucky
A decade ago, Lexington took a bold step by enacted the state's first public smoking ban, in a city that once proudly touted its status as the "World's largest burley tobacco market." As smoke-free supporters and Lexington residents celebrate...
- Lack Of Statewide Smoking Ban Represents One Part Of Kentucky's Struggle To Deal With Tobacco Use And The Health Issues It Creates
By Molly BurchettKentucky Health News As the bill for a statewide smoking ban lies on its deathbed in the General Assembly, new federal data show Kentucky still has the highest percentage of smokers (29 percent) of any state, leads the nation in the share...
- Smoke-free Campuses Are A Growing Trend; Uk Volunteers Taking Action To Get Compliance With Ban Enacted Nearly Two Years Ago
This summer, Tobacco-free Take Action! volunteers at the University of Kentucky have been circling campus, asking students to put out their cigarettes while on school property. UK is one of about 530 U.S. colleges that have enacted smoke-free policies....