Policy focused on changing habits, not punishment of smokers
When the clock strikes midnight on Dec. 31 and the new year begins, nobody will be able to light up, dip or vape on USC property. Tobacco Free USC will take effect on Jan. 1, 2014, barring anyone from using any tobacco product on campus.
The policy is designed to encourage people to partake in more healthy habits and reduce the effects of tobacco use on campus, including secondhand smoke, according to Jessica Johnston, chair of USC’s Tobacco Free Task Force and the director of Healthy Carolina. Its enforcement will be community-based; students, faculty and staff are encouraged to ask tobacco users who violate the ban to put out their cigarette and seek help kicking the habit.
“We are helping to empower the community to enforce this policy as a community,” Johnston said. “We want everyone to step in and play a part in this.”
Officers from USC’s Division of Law Enforcement and Safety are included in that community enforcement, but will not ticket students or change patrol habits to specifically seek out smokers, according to division spokesman Capt. Eric Grabski.
“Our primary role is the safety of the campus,” Grabski said. “We do not plan on altering that role in any way.”
However, if people repeatedly violate the ban, they can face consequences beyond a gentle reminder that they cannot use tobacco on campus.
For students, a first reported violation to student conduct will result in a required 30-minute workshop on smoking offered by Carolina Wellness. If a student is reported a second time, he or she will face a $50 fine and complete an essay about how their tobacco use will affect them in the future. If they “communicate readiness for change,” they will meet with a Campus Wellness staff member to determine a cessation program that they will complete. Those who are unwilling to change their habits will watch a documentary about smoking and write an essay about the film.
A third offense will result in a $75 fine, probation and either required community service hours or the completion of a cessation program.
Faculty who violate the policy will answer to their department or division head, and staff will report to their immediate supervisor and be disciplined in accordance with already established policies.
Johnston cited the decrease in alcohol violations after the introduction of stiffer fines as evidence the disciplinary measures for tobacco policy violations may work. The amount of “at-risk alcohol behavior” has decreased since the fines increased in Fall 2012, she said.
Healthy Carolina also has a form that can be used to report repeat violations. This form is intended to determine where “hot spots” for tobacco users crop up once the policy is in place. The form asks for the date, time and location of the offense as well as a description of the violator and whether the reporter approached the violator about the policy.
“This will help the task force, and our office, know where we have tobacco users congregating,” Johnston said. “This will help us go out and make sure they’re informed about the policy and educate them about the treatment opportunities available.”
This strategy was based off those used at other colleges and universities, where it’s been successful, Johnston said.
But while these disciplinary processes have given the policy the teeth it lacked when its implementation was initially announced in August, the focus is still on “awareness, education and treatment,” Johnston said.
“We’re not telling people they have to quit. The policy is emphasizing that tobacco use cannot occur on campus property,” she said. “The main thing to emphasize is that this is a culture change. We want to make a healthy campus environment.”