Last week, Mississippi State University held two open forums regarding the proposed tobacco policy designed to eventually make MSU’s campus completely tobacco-free.
Bill Kibler, vice president of Student Affairs, was one of the speakers at the open forums.
Kibler said approximately 30 people came to each session.
“It was hard to know what to expect, but we were pleased with the turnout,” Kibler said. “Both forums had plenty of discussion.”
Kibler said there was a variety of questions, answers and conversation made by the audience about the proposal.
He said questions ranged from specific inquiries about the proposal to the outcome of a poll sent to MSU students, faculty and staff last spring.
McMillen said there was confusion regarding what the polls meant.
“We did a faculty and staff vote using a secure online system,” McMillen said. “It was sent to every single faculty and staff member.”
McMillen said participants were given three options from which to choose regarding the policy. Contributors could choose to vote in favor of making no changes to the policy, in favor of changing the policy to limit the designated smoking areas or in favor of eradicating tobacco completely.
McMillen clarified although the majority of participants voted in favor of changing the policy, there was not a large number of participants.
Kibler said there were questions concerning the overall changes which have been made regarding tobacco use on campus. He said he considers the current proposal to be the “next step” in a 30-year evolution to eradicate tobacco use on campus.
“Knowing that (the change) affects a lot of people, we have been very deliberate about getting feedback from as many people as we can to be sure we’re considering all viewpoints before submitting the final proposal,” Kibler said.
Sarah O’Quinn, junior biological sciences major, said she agrees with MSU’s plan to become a tobacco-free campus.
“I don’t like the fact that smoking is allowed on campus,” O’Quinn said. “It has been proven that secondhand smoke is harmful. In certain areas, people are smoking where I can’t avoid walking right by them. I hate walking into clouds of smoke.”
David Bond, junior civil engineering major, said he disagrees with the policy.
“In my opinion, if you are over 18 years old, you should be able to use tobacco anywhere that will not harm another individual,” Bond said. “If (a smoker) is outside and away from the entrances to buildings, then they should be allowed to smoke. If someone else doesn’t like it, they can simply not walk beside (the smoker).”
To show the difference a tobacco-free policy can make, McMillen referred to studies done at the Indiana University and Purdue University. The two universities are similar in student body and in region, but Indiana went tobacco-free in 2008, whereas Purdue did not.
The study looked at students both before and after the policy took place at Indiana University. There was a drop in Indiana students who were smokers, but no change in Purdue students smokers.
“The results of the study would suggest that by changing the tobacco policy, we can reduce the number of students who graduate addicted to a substance that could very likely kill them,” McMillen said.
Kibler said the plan is for MSU to be completely tobacco-free by August 2014.