Ten years ‘tobacco free,’ but UMN campus area has plenty of vaping and litter –

Sidewalk trash varies in shape and size, but Dinkytown litter often takes a conspicuous and relatively new form: nicotine packaging.

The occasional vape packaging or discarded cartridge is a common sight on the streets bordering the University of Minnesota. On campus, nicotine-related waste is rare because Smoke-Free Campus policy guidelines make using nicotine in facilities an offense punishable by administrative action.

Take a walk through any dorm hall, though, or stroll past a campus building at the right time, and smoked material and its lingering traces become obvious. Students have smoked on the fringes – vaping in bathrooms, their dorms or outside – and the public health issue is a lot more complicated.

Bottom line up front

According to the spring 2022 Boynton Health Share the Air student survey, the average student sees other people vaping on campus about four times per week. This is double the observed rate of vaping from 2015.

Boynton Health health promotion specialist Mikaela Robertson said the Boynton Health Share the Air student survey is an assessment of policy compliance and awareness given to a random sample of 2,000 students and 2,000 staff and faculty. Questions include topics like whether they know about the policy or whether they have been exposed to secondhand smoke on campus.

In a non-scientific survey conducted by The Minnesota Daily, 24 of 48 respondents reported they observed students using nicotine products on campus grounds monthly. Only four respondents said they never observed nicotine usage on campus.

Off-campus areas like Dinkytown reported 29 of 46 students observed nicotine use on a monthly basis. There is a 20% increase in reported tobacco usage from the smoke-free zone to the smoke-filled zone, according to the survey.

National statistics

At least 2,082 colleges have gone smoke-free, with 83% of those colleges going completely tobacco-free according to a CDC report. Smoking in the U.S. has substantially decreased in the past 20 years amidst a rapid uptick in the number of vape and smoke shops since 2018.

National 2022 College Health Assessment data revealed that about 23% of undergraduate college students have smoked in the past three months, down from 23% four years prior. Smoking seems to be decreasing, especially on college campuses.

The smoking/smokeless tobacco use rate for University students ages 18–24 in the past 30 days was reported at 10% in 2021, according to the college health student survey report. An additional 11% of University students report using a vape in the past 30 days.

A tobacco-free University

University facilities, buildings and grounds on the Duluth, Crookston, Rochester and Twin Cities campuses have been smoke and tobacco-free since July 1, 2014. All students, staff, faculty and visitors are prohibited from smoking and using, selling, distributing and advertising tobacco products and electronic cigarettes in all facilities and on all University property.

Student Affairs Vice President Calvin Phillips said in an email to the Daily the Smoke and Tobacco Free Campus policy was established to reduce secondhand smoke exposure. He said the policy results in cleaner air for everyone and a supportive environment for tobacco users who want to quit.

“Since the policy was first implemented nearly 10 years ago, cigarette use and secondhand smoke exposure among University of Minnesota students have decreased dramatically,” Philips said in the email.

Philips said the policy relies on students, faculty and staff to encourage compliance of each other.

“Students, faculty, staff, and visitors who violate this policy should be reminded about it and asked to comply,” Philips said in the email. “Repeated violations can be reported to Share the Air or the Office for Community Standards.”

Robertson said the formal procedure to promote compliance for someone on campus consists of identifying smokers and reminding them of the policy, places they can smoke off campus and to be aware of the people around them. Further action would consist of reporting them to their supervisor on a second reminder with the third reminder being reporting them to University Human Resources, according to Robertson.

Robertson said reports are rare, however. The ability to enforce is dependent on a variety of factors, including whether the person smoking is identified and is a student/employee or not.

“For visitors on campus, you know, the policy applies to them,” Robertson said. “There’s very little that we can do if a visitor were smoking on campus.”

According to the Boynton Health Share the Air survey in years 2015-2022, 70% of students would be very unlikely to say something about the Smoke Free Campus policy.

Robertson said the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act makes it illegal for anyone to smoke indoors, whether on campus or not. Students cannot get arrested for smoking outdoors on University grounds, but breaches of policy are treated…