Smoking Bans on Campus – Universities & Tobacco – The Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society

Universities and Tobacco

II. A burning issue: Campus smoking bans

There are approximately 5,300 colleges and universities in the United States, of which (as reported in 2020–2021) 1,892 are public institutions, 1,754 are private nonprofit institutions, and 2,270 are private for-profit institutions. According to Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR), as of January 1, 2025, there are at least 2,587 100% smokefree campus sites. Thus, in spite of the progress in de-normalizing smoking in the US, the number of smoke-free campuses remains less than 50%. Much work remains. ANR’s leadership in this effort is unparalleled. Cynthia Hallett, a co-author of the MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) study, “Smoke-Free and Tobacco-Free Policies in Colleges and Universities ― United States and Territories, 2017”, serves as president and CEO of ANR. Laura Wolpert, JD, Senior Policy Analyst of the ANR Foundation and Heidi Wohlwend, ANR’s communications and donor relations specialist, provided invaluable assistance for this part of the exhibition.

The policies that ANR has worked ceaselessly to implement since 1976 represent more than protecting the majority of members of a university community from passive exposure to toxic and unpleasant tobacco in shared spaces. They also help reinforce the message that nicotine addiction no longer has a place in campus life and cannot be ignored. Then there is the environmental pollution from discarded cigarettes, vape pens, cartridges, and packaging. It’s also a matter of respect for those who maintain the buildings and outdoor areas. The risk of fire from discarded cigarettes and matches is another reason that a smoking ban contributes to public safety. Opponents point out that a complete smoking ban on a residential campus creates a personal safety issue for those who must venture off-campus at night to light up. This part of the exhibition also looks at the history of smoking bans on two campuses: the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Alabama.

“MARKET REPORTS, ILLUSTRATED:
“‘Tobacco —
There was a sudden downward tendency!’“

Souvenir postcard, United Kingdom
Circa 1910

“Sign of the times at Kansas University”

Photograph, Acme Newspictures
October 23, 1939

“Lawrence, Kansas —- Deane Mallot, recently of Harvard and now Chancellor at Kansas University has created quite a furor on the campus over his recent proposal to prohibit smoking in college buildings. That all students do not approve the possible ban can be seen from the above photo showing Ray Phelps, Kansas City, Mo. And Bill Vickers, Lawrence, Kansas. It is rumored that if the proposed ordinance is voted down by the students, student government will be discontinued on the theory that the students are unfit to govern themselves.”

Curator’s Note: Although the editors of the school newspaper, The Daily Kansan and the yearbook, Jayhawker, favored the ban, it does not appear that it was ever implemented. However, Mallot became a renowned figure in higher education.

Deane Waldo Malott (1898-1996) served as the eighth chancellor of the University of Kansas from 1939-1951, the youngest individual to have occupied that position. A professor at Harvard’s business school since 1933, he was selected from over 100 candidates. During his tenure he revitalized the university, which had struggled financially in the Depression. Until Pearl Harbor, the vast majority of KU students opposed military involvement by the U.S. against Germany. Malott in turn urged them to “meditate on the nature and value of freedom” and democracy and oversaw the university’s transformation into a major military training facility. (Source: https://union.ku.edu/chancellor-firsts)

His term as Cornell University’s sixth president (1951-1963) saw the largest period of building in its history and the reorganization of its medical school as the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. According to Cornell’s website (https://president.cornell.edu/the-presidency/deane-waldo-malott/). “With the acceleration of McCarthyism, Malott was faced with one of the major threats to academic freedom in the 20th century. While his personal feelings were conservative, in public statements he defended academic freedom and criticized McCarthyism. Malott contributed to and was successful in maintaining an atmosphere where current issues could be freely discussed.”

“NEW LIBRARY READING ROOM
Smoking PERMITTED”
[Cigarette girl selling cigars and cigarettes, as a satirical extension of smoking being permitted in the university library] (2 pages)

Cover of Scop, humor magazine of the University of California at Los Angeles
Back cover: “Always Buy Chesterfield,” advertisement by Liggett & Myers Tobacco Company for Chesterfield cigarettes, featuring actress Linda Darnell
April 1949

Collage of headlines in US daily newspapers related to smoking on college campuses, 1960s to 1990s

University of Wisconsin Smoking Ban, 1991

“UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN
MADISON CAMPUS
SMOKE-FREE POLICY
EFFECTIVE APRIL 8, 1991”

“The compelling scientific findings, as summarized by the United States Surgeon General and the Environmental Protection Agency, indicate that the simple separation of buildings into ‘smoking’ and ‘nonsmoking’ sections does not eliminate the unequivocal health risks that result from Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS). In light of the clear health hazards associated with tobacco smoke for smokers and non-smokers alike, the University of Wisconsin-Madison has adopted the following SMOKE-FREE policy…”

“In nearly ten years at Isthmus, I’ve never received a press release, phone call, or a fax form the American Cancer Society, the American Lung and Heart associations., the Wisconsin Department of Health, or any agency funded by Project ASSIST seeking coverage on or editorial support for any measure that would make it more difficult for smokers to light up in public or for kids to buy cigarettes. Yet it’s these things – not innocuous showy events like this week’s ‘Great American Smoke Out!’ that represent the true front line in the war against smoking.

“Meanwhile, Sharenow sends me – and other journalists and policy makers – several communications a week: raisin issues, picking battles, providing information., He’s not the only person doing work in this area. Yoast [Rich Yoast, director of Project ASSIST, a federally funded tobacco program run by the state (1995 budget: $1.5 million)] makes a good point when he says that smoking is a societal issue that requires a multifaceted response. But he’s [Sharenow] certainly more visible, more courageous, and more effective than a lot of people who do get funding…”

–From a column by Bill Lueders, “The most hated person in tobacco control: Why is Ira Sharenow shunned by people who get paid to do what he does better?”
Isthmus (Madison, Wisconsin alt-weekly)
November 17, 1995

Alan Blum, MD interviews Ira Sharenow, the activist who led the campaign for a non-smoking campus at the University of Wisconsin, Madison (38:00)

“MoJo’s September Hellraiser”

“Ira Sharenow rarely misses a city council meeting. Nicknamed the ’21st alder’ on Madison’s 20-seat council, the anti-tobacco activist serves his city in the self-appointed role of gadfly.

“Sharenow spends up to 40 hours a week gathering information about the tobacco industry and its politics for journalists, legislators, and other activists. His diligence has paid off: In 1991, Sharenow successfully organized a smoking ban at the University of Wisconsin, where he is a graduate student; a year later, he was instrumental in getting a smoking ban in restaurants citywide.

“‘He’s the leading activist in the state of Wisconsin,’ says Scott Brezinski, an intern pharmacist and former fellow student.

“Not afraid to confront those in power, Sharenow meticulously documents tobacco industry contributions to Wisconsin politicians. He’s asked Gov. Tommy Thompson about tobacco ties at press conferences and on radio call-in shows. In 1993, Sharenow brought an ethics charge against a prominent Madison lobbyist for not disclosing that Philip Morris paid him to lobby against the restaurant smoking ban. (The ethics charge failed because Madison doesn’t require lobbyists to say who pays them.) Another tobacco lobbyist called Sharenow ‘dangerous and evil’ after Sharenow claimed the lobbyist was worse ‘than a mafia attorney for taking tobacco money.’

“Sharenow’s activism is so relentless that even some tobacco control groups are leery of him. One official at the American Heart Association once told Sharenow he caused more harm to the anti-tobacco movement than Philip Morris, because he won’t compromise. ‘He doesn’t give up,’ agrees Sharenow supporter Jean MacCubbin, a Madison City Council alder.

“Sharenow, who is allergic to smoke, became active because the head of his math department allowed smoking in the building. He took the fight all the way up to then-chancellor Donna Shalala, and won. Ever since, Sharenow has devoted himself to attending council meetings, pressuring politicians, and writing letters to the editor.

“‘Even when I’m doing the dishes,’ Sharenow says, ‘I’m thinking about who to write letters to.'”

—Mother Jones Magazine
September/October 1996

“Wisconsin’s Proposed Campus Smoking Ban

University of Wisconsin

Madison Campus” (7 pages)

Document prepared by Diversified Communications Services, David T. Scheler, Inc. for Mr. Dan Nelson, Tobacco Institute Regional Vice President Region IV, November 5, 1990.

Accessed from the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents

Bates Number TI21010979

https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=jhfw0042

“On Monday, September 24, 1990, one of our student operatives was asked by a fellow student activist, Kevin Hasker, if we could help the students fight the proposed smoking ban. He was informed that we are not involved in this issue and was directed to contact the Tobacco Institute for their input. Once he was informed that the tobacco industry could not be of assistance dure to the ‘potential sensitivity’ of youth and tobacco consumption, the student activist decided to put together his own petition campaign…

“As reported in the Badger Herald on October 9, 1990, Kevin Hasker had put together a smokers’ action group meeting to discuss the ban. Hasker commented that he is receiving very little support from smokers on campus. Five people attended the meeting…

“In monitoring Kevin’s activities through one of our volunteers, we were able to discern that he was only able to obtain about one hundred signatures on his petition drive by the beginning of October….

“On October 25, 1990, a ‘town meeting’ was held for public input on the smoking ban issue. One of our student volunteers combined the 950 petition signatures our volunteer group obtained with the 250 signatures obtained by the independent student activist Kevin Hasker.

“Approximately 50 people were in attendance at the October 25, 1990 meeting. Speakers presented views both for and against the ban…

“Opposition to the ban was expressed by Michael Shafer, a representative of AFSCME Local 171. Shafer stated that ‘Janitors can’t smoke in the buildings they work in, where professionals can smoke in their private offices James Ubilt, a Physical Plant staff member, agreed with Shafer. ‘Blue-collar workers in clerical and technical areas will be prohibited to satisfy a real physical need.’

“…On November 1, 1990, the WAS student senate formally voted against the proposed ban…”

“Smoking Bans on University Campuses” (2 pages)

RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company internal report on the proposal to ban smoking at the University of Wisconsin
September 26, 1990
Identified in the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents

https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/docs/fpbj0084

“Background

There appears to be a trend toward banning smoking on college campuses. The university system in North Dakota was moving toward a ban, but that issue is now being contested in the courts on behalf of the college students by the North Dakota ACLU. Currently, the University of Wisconsin at Madison is considering a ban on smoking in all indoor areas of the campus. Chancellor Donna Shalala is promoting the ban.

Despite the fact that nearly all college students are of legal age to purchase cigarettes (15+), we have purposely avoided getting involved when smoking restrictions are proposed in a university setting. For the most part, we have counseled local groups to avoid getting involved when smoking restrictions are proposed in a university setting. For the most part, we have counseled local groups to avoid becoming actively involved in these issues, too. It is my understanding that our efforts to eliminate any possibility of being perceived as trying to market our products to youth has been the driving force behind these decisions
.
Political Analysis UW-Madison

* Chancellor Donna Shalala is a vehement anti-smoker. She brought former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop on campus as a consultant/spokesperson to support the ban…
* From 1968 to 1988, RJR has contributed $114,000 to the University for tobacco research, discretionary grants and undergraduate scholarships. (See attached listing). TI [The Tobacco Institute] thinks that Philip Morris has also made sizeable contributions to the University.
* State Representative Barbara Gronamus, who also chairs the state’s Agricultural Committee, blasted Chancellor Shalala in the press for pushing for the ban. However, TI characterizes Gronamus as being viewed as a flake throughout the state, who has very little political pull, if any…
Possible Grassroots Actions
*RJRT’s involvement should be very low key. Even though college students aren’t ‘youth,’ if our involvement became known we could expect the usual allegations from our adversaries. This would take the focus off the real issue, give our opponents additional ammunition and reduce the likelihood of defeating the ban.
*Instead of direct RJRT involvement, we should let the local smokers’ rights groups and others who are impacted by the ban be the ‘lightning rods’ on the issue.
*Have local groups monitor college papers to identify students opposed to the proposal. The local groups would contact these individuals, invite then to the next group meeting and develop coalitions with them…
*Students could consider having their parents, who write the tuition checks, write letters to the Chancellor opposing the ban…”

“University of Wisconsin Smoking Ban”

Memorandum from Judi Provosty of the Washington, DC-based public relations firm Fleishman Hillard, Inc. retained by the Tobacco Institute, to the Institute’s Marty Gleason, Director of Issues Management.

October 25, 1990

Accessed from the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents

Bates Number TI02091258-TI02091259

https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=lfnl0004

“At your request, we have been monitoring the progress of the University of Wisconsin’s proposed campus-wide smoking ban. The latest development has been that the Union Council, the governing committee of the student union buildings, voted against the ban…

“The council was one of seven organizations asked by the UW Chancellor Donna Shalala to comment on the ban…

“In response to your request for recommended action, TI should consider…approaching some campus or other outside group to write an op-ed or sponsor advocacy advertisements to be placed in the university or city newspapers, to sponsor debates or organize letter-writing campaigns.

“We recommend that any ad or article focus on the personal rights issue first, and the smoking issue second, for greater impact.

“Here are some third-party spokespeople TI might want to tap:

*The UW alumni association president or other powerful alumni, who either are smokers or strong First Amendment advocates. A few letters, or even one, could have an impact on their financial support is so important to the university.

*The University of Wisconsin Smoker’s Organization — it apparently was established this fall, but we don’t know who is behind the group.

*Representatives of the 11 labor unions on campus — they represent the university’s 7,000 employees.

*James Jones — a UW law professor who was quoted in the student newspaper as questioning the ban because no data has shown that ETS [Curator’s Note: environmental tobacco smoke, an industry coinage so named to imply that cigarette smoke is a normal constituent of the air] causes health problems to nonsmokers.

“An ACLU group or state level smokers group…”

“PETITION

WE THE UNDERSIGNED SUPPORT:

People’s rights and we therefore oppose smoking bans on campus.

Smoking bans are a direct assault on our rights.”

Petition circulated at the University of Wisconsin, Madison campus, Octiber 1990.

Accessed from the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents

Bates Number TI28733755

https://www.industrydocuments.ucsf.edu/tobacco/docs/#id=fsvm0039

“Collegians lighting up;
Universities trying to extinguish smoking trend;
Smoke-free zones spreading across nation’s campuses” (2 pages)

Article by Aaron Davis and Bree Fowler
USA Today
March 4, 1999

“It’s a fact of life on the nation’s college campuses: the harder administrators try to discourage students from smoking, the more students smoke.

“Today, more students are lighting up than at any time in the past two decades despite increasingly stringent attempts to stop them, from bans on smoking in classroom buildings to a growing trend toward smoke-free dorms and apartments.”

“Smoking makes the campus scene:
Study focuses on parties backed by tobacco industry”

Article by Liz Szabo
USA Today
December 29, 2004

“College life has long provided young people with a smorgasbord of late-night diversions.

“But now students have been flocking to bars, nightclubs and campus parties for a new kind of social event: tobacco-industry-sponsored parties, complete with complimentary cigarettes…

“Nearly one in 10 college students have gone to an industry-sponsored party, according to an article in the January edition of the American Journal of Public Health…At some schools, 27% of students have attended tobacco bashes, which often include live music and freebies such as T-shirts…”

“More Colleges Banning Smoking
Trend now reaching bigger universities” (2 pages)

Article by Emily Bazar
USA Today
March 2, 2007

“Colleges are snuffing out smoking everywhere on campus, even in outdoor light-up spots such as main quads and sidewalks.

“At least 43 campuses from California to New Jersey have gone smoke-free, a trend that is accelerating, according to Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights. Most have been community colleges and commuter schools, but more large universities with student housing are debating campus-wide bans, says the group’s Bronson Frick.

“‘We want our institution to make a statement about doing the right thigs when it comes to good health,’ says Chuck Kupchella, president of the 13,000-student University of North Dakota in Grand Forks. ‘Smokers still will have rights, but just not on our campus.’

“Nearly 31% of full-time college students smoke, compared with about 25% of the overall population…Students form lifelong habits in college, so reducing their exposure to cigarettes may have a lasting effect, says Betsy Foy of the American College Health Association…”

“Cal State Long Beach must balance healthful living with the right to smoke on campus”

Editorial
The Daily Breeze (Long Beach, California)
December 21, 2012

“The freedom to light up a cigarette is getting snuffed out at every turn in the Golden State, from restaurants and bars to beaches and parks. Even when taking health concerns into consideration, the limitations slapped on smokers are getting a bit out of hand…

“We absolutely agree that nonsmokers shouldn’t be subjected to unhealthy side effects. After all, smoking remains the leading cause of death in the United States, accounting for about 443,000 deaths annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But smokers should not have to be shamed into sneaking a cigarette off campus…

“Designating a specific location for smokers — along with publicizing and strictly enforcing the rules — seems sufficient. After all, there’s enough real estate on the sprawling CSU campuses to allow small pockets of smokers to congregate here and there.”

“BIG TOBACCO: ‘YA SEE COLLEGE HAS BEEN DUMBED DOWN!”
[COLLEGE-AGE SMOKING TRENDS RISING]

Editorial cartoon by Clyde Peterson (“C.P. Houston”) [1942-2025]
Houston Chronicle
November 23, 1998

“Smoking policy infringes on community’s rights” (2 pages)

Editorial and editorial cartoon mocking the claims of harm from breathing secondhand cigarette smoke
The Northeastern News (student newspaper of Northeastern University)
October 14, 1992

“University administrators have taken things excessively far with the recent campus-wide ban of tobacco use and sales and have infringed upon the rights of members of its community.

“The banning of a legal product is an infringement of personal rights. What gives a university, which is supposed to be the bastion of acceptance and tolerance of all groups’ rights, the right to make a legal product prohibited?”

“Smoke-Free New England Campus Initiative”

Article by Jessica Morganoff
Campus Firewatch
February 2002

Photograph of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity house at Washington & Lee University, Lynchburg, Virginia in the aftermath of a fire believed caused by a discarded cigarette or match, March 12, 2009. (Source: The Lynchburg News & Advance)

Curator’s Note: According to the U.S. Fire Administration, “an estimated 7,600 smoking-related fires in residential buildings occur each year in the United States. While smoking-related fires accounted for only 2 percent of all residential building fires, they were a leading cause of civilian fire deaths, accounting for 14 percent of fire deaths in residential buildings.” A fire at the Sigma Chi fraternity house at the University of Kansas in 2014 was attributed to the “improper disposal of smoking materials.” In reporting on this fire in an article in the journal Fire Safety (https://www.fireengineering.com/fire-safety/smoking-materials-cause-fire-at-university-of-kansas-fraternity-house/), the Boston-based Center for Campus Fire Safety (https://www.myccfs.org/), founded in 2005, noted that

“86 fatal fires have been documented that occurred on a college campus, in Greek housing or in off-campus housing within 3-miles of the campus – claiming a total of 123 victims.

73 fires have occurred in off-campus housing claiming 104 victims
7 fires have occurred in on-campus building or residence halls claiming 9 victims
6 fires have occurred in Greek housing claiming 10 victims”

University of Alabama Smoking Ban, 2014

“UA should pass ban on outdoor smoking”

Editorial
The Tuscaloosa News
November 23, 2006

“…As anyone who has ever exited a building full of fresh air only to walk through a cloud of smoke knows, simply moving smokers outside doesn’t stop bystanders from inhaling their smoke.

“The University of Alabama is tackling that problem, and we encourage UA’s administration, Student Government Association and Staff Assembly to support a rule that would ban smoking within 30 feet of campus buildings. The Faculty Senate has already approved the resolution.

“UA banned smoking inside buildings in 1991, and the law school recently barred it within 25 feet of the building except for one doorway. Alan Blum, director of the University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society, wants a ban barring all smoking from campus grounds.

“We also encourage UA officials to explore a campuswide smoking ban much like other school have. For example, in September, Indiana University implemented a new policy that…prohibits smoking everywhere on campus, including University vehicles and privately owned vehicles on campus…”

“Smokers say ‘No’ to restrictions” (3 pages)

Article by Danielle Drago
The Crimson White
January 14, 2009

“It is estimated that approximately 30 percent of college students are current tobacco users, according to the Harvard College Alcohol Study. Almost 40 percent of college students either began smoking or became regular smokers after starting college, according to the study. Smokers point to the daily grind of college life as a catalyst for their addiction.

“‘College life is too stressful,’ said Neal Clark, a freshman majoring in pre-law. ‘If some people smoke, then they smoke. That’s how they make it through the day.’

“OUR VIEW:
Smoking ban could alienate students”
(Consensus of The Crimson White‘s editorial board)

“While we again acknowledge the harmful effects of smoking, it is every person’s right to make that choice for themselves. By banning smoking on campus, University administrators would alienate numerous students and faculty members, causing them to leave, which would make moot the Student Health Center’s goal of protecting students from the illnesses caused by secondhand smoke. With fewer students to cater to in such a way, what would be the point in the first place?..”

“UA assesses campus smoking regulations” (2 pages)

Article by Joseph Weber
The Crimson White
October 1, 2010

“Four hundred and twenty colleges and universities in the United States have gone smoke-free, both indoors and out.

“The University [of Alabama] is not a smoke-free campus but does have potential to be one if certain policies are taken up.

“Delynne Wilcox, assistant director of Health Promotion and Wellness at the Student Health Center, said she likes the idea of a smoke-free environment.

“‘All communities should aspire to be a smoke-free area because it makes the community and its members healthier,’ Wilcox said…

“Tweet of the Week: ‘First coffee, now cigarettes? We’re adults, we can choose to ruin our skin & lungs, or commit to healthy lifestyles'”

“[Bystander watching drunk driver shooting a gun and running over a pedestrian reading a newspaper THE NEWS with the headline ‘SMOKING BAN FOR STRIP [The Strip is the main drag alongside the University of Alabama:] WATCH OUT! HE’S GOT A CIGARETTE!'”

Editorial cartoon by Sean Hoade
The Crimson White (student newspaper of the University of Alabama)
March 29, 2006

“‘Look at all the body bags! Yeah, you people know it’

‘Word.’

‘Oh look, another “TRUTH” commercial! I hate these guys.’

‘Ammonia? Is that stuff edible?’

‘Acting obnoxious, immature, disgusting and annoying to dissuade smoking?

‘What’s not to love?’

‘They bug me so much I might START smoking!'”

Editorial cartoon by Brannon
The Crimson White (student newspaper of the University of Alabama)
March 4, 2002

Curator’s Note: The American Legacy Foundation was created in 1999 with money from the tobacco industry, as part of the Master Settlement Agreement between the industry and 44 state attorneys-general who had sued to recover state Medicaid and other costs from caring for persons made ill by smoking. Legacy received $500 million a year for five years. Legacy’s most well-known activity was anti-smoking TV advertisements. The advertisements could not attack companies by name or use brand names. In 2015 Advertising Age Magazine named the American Legacy’s “Body Bags” advertisement one of the 10 best advertisements of the first 15 years of the 21st century. The Crimson White editorial cartoon, drawn just after the advertisement debuted, suggests that not all college students would agree with that assessment.

“TOBACCO FREE CHALLENGE: 30-day event to kick off Tuesday”

Article by Jennie Kushner
The Crimson White
March 30, 2009

“The Office of Health Promotion and Wellness will attempt to challenge 30 students and faculty members to live a tobacco-free lifestyle for 30 days and beyond for the 2nd Annual 30 Day Tobacco Free Challenge that kicks off Tuesday…”

“Colleges moving toward absolute bans on smoking” (2 pages)

Article by Julie Carr Smyth of The Associated Press
The Tuscaloosa News
June 28, 2012

“Bans on tobacco in all its forms are being enacted or considered at perhaps half of campuses nationwide, sometimes over the objections of student smokers, staff and faculty. The movement is driven by mounting evidence of the health risks of secondhand smoke, the reduced costs of smoke-free dorms and a drive to minimize enticements to smoke at a critical age for forming lifelong habits.

“California’s state system will bar tobacco use in August 2013. A ban on use and advertising at the City University of New York system goes into effect in September, and the University of Missouri at Columbia is going smoke-free in 2014…

“One of the first campuses to ban tobacco was Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield, Mo., which endorsed the move in 1999 and put it in place four years later. ..Ty Patterson [of the College] says Ozarks quickly realized that its previous policy of allowing smoking in designated outdoor areas was impractical and couldn’t be properly enforced. Forbidding all tobacco use was deemed to be more effective than saying no to cigarette smoke…

“Smoking rights advocate Audrey Silk, founder of New York Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment says any outdoor ban — whether for a campus, beach or public park is an attack on the rights of one segment of the population…

“Silk says it’s not the place of schools to enforce health issues.

“‘Schools are a business,’ she says ‘Who assigned them the role of behavior modification? It’s their responsibility to educate. What they’re doing is indoctrinating’…”

“University considers smoking ban; other Alabama schools lead the way;
SGA [Student Government Association] has rejected previous attempts to enact ban”

Article by Andy McWhorter
The Crimson White
August 21, 2013

“While most of the other bans across the state were implemented by university administrators, [University of] Alabama administrators so far have not taken similar executive actions.

“‘The deans and Dr. Bonner [University of Alabama president Judy Bonner] as well said they want to leave it up to the students and the SGA,’ McMillian said [student Zac McMillian, leader of the effort to ban tobacco use on campus].”

“Alabama colleges take more steps to snuff out smoking” (3 pages)

Article by Hannah Wolfson
The Birmingham News
April 17, 2012

“…The Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation estimates there are about 700 smoke-free campuses around the country.

“One of the pioneers in Alabama, Troy University, will get to 100 percent smoke-free — that means no smoking anywhere, indoors or out — at its main campus starting in August…”

“I WANT A
TOBACCO
FREE
CAMPUS–
SPEAK FOR ME! MAKE UA SMOKE $ TOBACCO FREE
2014”

Petition by University of Alabama student group
2014

“Study finds 10% of freshmen begin smoking in college”

Article by Katherine Owen
The Crimson White
April 8, 2023

“As the freshman class enters The University of Alabama, about 6 percent will arrive as smokers. When they leave as graduates, 16 percent will walk away with the habit…

“This data comes from a study done by Zac McMillian, a sophomore majoring in management systems…

“‘If we could keep the number of individuals who pick up smoking while on campus down, then we’ve succeeded, I think’…”

“Alabama last SEC campus without smoking ban
Ole Miss, Tennessee, Auburn enact campuswide limitations” (2 pages)

Article by Alyx Chandler
The Crimson White
November 25, 2013

“There are 45 million smokers in America, but 125 million people are impacted by secondhand smoke,’ said DeLynne Wilcox, assistant director of the department of health promotion and wellness at the Student Health Center. ‘Smoking is not one of those things that [is] limited to only the health risks of the smoker. It impacts people around them.’

“…Faculty, to professional staff, to students all recognize health benefits for our community for taking the next step, and they want to support the administration in making the decision,’ Wilcox said.”

“UA BANS SMOKING ON CAMPUS
Regulation includes usage of e-cigarettes” (2 pages)

Article by Collin Burwinkel
The Crimson White
November 5, 2014

“The University of Alabama will become smoke-free effective Jan. 1, 2015.

“An emailed statement sent to students Tuesday said ‘smoking, including the use of e-cigarettes, will be prohibited in all facilities, grounds and parking areas on the UA campus.’

“The Faculty Senate, the Professional and Staff Assembly, the Office, Clerical and Technical Assembly, the Black Faculty/Staff Association and the UA Association of Residential Communities passed resolutions in support of a smoke-free campus…

“According to the emailed statement, the University joins more than 1,400 colleges and universities across the country that have become smoke-free…”

“SNUFFED OUT
Smoking ban takes effect on University of Alabama campus” (2 pages)

Article by Katie Shepherd and Nick Privitera
The Crimson White
January 7, 2015

“As students return from their break and go back to class, a news smoking ban will be in effect across campus, including all facilities, grounds and parking areas.

“The ban took effect on Jan. 1 and will remain indefinitely. According to the University’s non-smoking policy, ‘Smoking is prohibited at all times and at all locations.’ The University also described smoking as ‘inhaling, exhaling, burning, carrying or possessing any lighted product, including cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, and any other lit products, and the use of electronic cigarettes or similar devices.’

“This new policy makes Thew University of Alabama one of approximately 1,400 universities nationwide to go smoke-free, though it is one of the few to include e-cigarettes as well.

“Cathy Andreen, the University’s director of media relations, said the policy was implemented out of concern for students’ health and safety.

“‘The health and well-being of our students, faculty and staff is one of the highest priorities for The University of Alabama,’ she said. ‘As a result, over the past two decades. The University of Alabama has taken steps to protect the campus community from the dangers of second-hand smoke.'”

“NUTS 4 NICOTINE
Squirrels work together to defy campus smoking ban” (2 pages)

Article by Collin Burwinkel, Squirrel Enthusiast
The Crimson White? (April Fool’s Day issue)
April 1, 2015

“In an ultimate stand against the administration and authority on campus, the Quad squirrels at the University came together Tuesday to defy the smoking ban in what is being dubbed one of the largest orchestrated protests on campus in years.

“Squirrels could seen smoking cigarettes, cigars, e-cigs, hookahs and old-fashioned pipes. There were even reports of a lonesome group of Quad squirrels smoking marijuana on the edge of the Quad…

“Rocky Scrat, the leader of the Quad squirrels, said it is about time people started taking him and his fellow squirrels seriously.

“‘Today is a defining moment for the Quad squirrels,’ he said. ‘We have long been threatened by lawnmowers, tailgates and dogs five times the size of us. Today is the day we stand up and say enough is enough.'”

“Smoke-Free New England Campus Initiative”

“Responding to a dramatic increase over the past decade in the number of college-age smokers, the American Cancer Society’s Smoke-Free New England Campus Initiative is a comprehensive, seven-step program that empowers college students to make their campus smoke-free…”

Excerpt of “Advocating for A Tobacco-Free Campus: A manual for college and university students”
American Cancer Society, New England Division
2001

“Smoke & Tobacco-Free UW
Let’s clear the air at UW”

Flyer by University of Washington student group, TobaccoFreeUW
2008

Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights Association, the premier resource for smoke free campus policies

AMERICANS FOR NONSMOKERS’ RIGHTS FOUNDATION Directory of Smokefree and Tobacco-Free U.S. and Tribal Colleges and Universities (35 pages)

Each dot on this map of the United States and its territories represents a college or university campus that is either smokefree or entirely tobacco-free. Four states — Arkansas, Illinois, Iowa, and Louisiana — .have 100% smokefree college and university campuses. The map was updated in December 2025 by Maggie Hopkins, ANR’s Director of Data Management and Analysis.

The Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation (ANR) has also compiled a bibliography of over 200 articles about tobacco use on college campuses in such publications as the Journal of American College Health, Preventive Medicine, and the American Journal of Preventive Medicine: here.

“How Do Smoke & tobacco-Free Campus Policies Work?”

“Tobacco-Free Policy Rationale”

Here is the link to the comprehensive page on Colleges on the ANR website: https://no-smoke.org/at-risk-places/colleges/;

“tobacco
Let’s clear the air
tobacco-free UMass Amherst

UMass Amherst joins hundreds of tobacco-free colleges and universities across the U.S.
Effective July 1, 2013.”

Advertisement by the University of Massachusetts at Amherst
The Daily Hampshire Gazette (Northampton, Massachusetts)
April 3, 2013

AMERICANS FOR NONSMOKERS’ RIGHTS FOUNDATION
Smokefree and Tobacco-Free U.S. and Tribal Colleges and Universities (30 pages)
2025

Curator’s Note: In 2003 Ozarks Technical Community College became the first fully tobacco-free college campus. The policy, which was introduced gradually, covered not just cigarettes but also non-combustible tobacco products). According to ANR’s Laura Wolpert a guiding principle behind the policy was to support tobacco use cessation for staff, faculty, and students. Here is the link to Ozark’s concise pioneering policy: https://no-smoke.org/colleges-universities-bibliography/

“The implementation of a smoke-free campus policy may be an effective intervention for reducing tobacco use among college students.”

–“The effect of a smoke-free campus policy on college students’ smoking behaviors and attitudes”
By Dong-Chul Sen et al.
Preventive Medicine
October 2011

*
“Students, faculty, and staff were strongly supportive of the existing smoke-free campus policy. However, the policy led to smoking activity shifting to the campus periphery.”

— “Predictors of support among students, faculty and staff for a smoke-free university campus”
By Mark T. Braverman et al.
Preventive Medicine.
February 2015

“Of…supporters of a smoke-free campus, 14.3% of students and 10.2% of faculty/staff were opposed to a tobacco-free campus.”

–“Supportive of a smoke-free campus but opposed to a 100% tobacco-free campus: Identification of predictors among university students, faculty, and staff”
By Marc T. Braverman et al..
Preventive Medicine
January 2017

“…[U]pon policy adoption, campuses should ensure student smokers’ access to cessation support and assistance with dealing with nicotine cravings. Second, campus information campaigns should focus particularly on younger students and those living on campus. Third, campuses should establish strong anti-tobacco norms, monitor secondhand smoke exposure, and communicates levels of students’ policy support.”

–“Predicting students’ noncompliance with a smoke-free university campus.”
By Marc T. Braverman et al.
Preventive Medicine
September 2018

“The Problem With Smoke-Free Campuses”

The trendy prohibition at many colleges is not only dishonest and misguided, but might well be dangerous to students, too, one professor argues.

Anonymous opinion essay
Inside Higher Ed
February 16, 2012

“Some 20 percent of university students smoke. On big campuses like mine (over 20,000 students), many of these make the university residences their home. At some late-night hour after my university implements its intended ban, a student will want to go out for a smoke. To avoid or comply with the new rules, she’ll end up on the far periphery of the campus, in one of the dark places of the university, or on a street off campus.

“The university’s ‘walk safe’ escort program will have informed her that they don’t have the resources to escort her, especially for an activity that university administrators want to stigmatize further. Later, the statistic in the newspaper may or may not mention why she was out there in the first place. Her bereaved parents may or may not have sufficient grounds to sue the university (but if other parents even suspect that one of their children smoke, they would do well to send them to study somewhere without a draconian outdoor ban).”

Curator’s Note: Inside Higher Ed, founded in 2004 by three individuals with a background in higher education journalism and recruitment, was acquired by Times Higher Education (THE), a British magazine reporting on higher education, in 2022. THE originated in 1971 as The Times Higher Education Supplement, a weekly newspaper published by The Times of London. Media Bias/Fact Check (which describes itself as the most comprehensive media bias resource on the internet. There are currently 9000+ media sources, journalists, and politicians listed in our database and growing every day”), rates Inside Higher Ed as “Left Center Biased” and its factual reporting as “High – Credible – Reliable.” Left Center Biased is explained as follows: “Sources have a slight to moderate progressive/liberal bias. They often publish factual information that utilizes loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by using appeal to emotion or stereotypes) to favor progressive/liberal causes. These sources are generally trustworthy for information, but may require further investigation.”

CODA: Bacchus, an alcohol industry-funded group, has supported smoke-free campuses, too

“Yes, We Mind…if you smoke.
And so should you.” (2 pages)

One of six pamphlets distributed on college campuses by TOBACCO FREE U, an initiative of The BACCHUS Network
2006

“The BACCHUS Network is a university and community-based prevention network…to actively promote student and young adult based, campus and community-wide leadership on healthy and safe lifestyle decisions concerning alcohol abuse, tobacco use, illegal drug use, unhealthy sexual practices and other high-risk behaviors.”

Curator’s Note: The BACCHUS Network, founded in 1976, provided educational materials on alcohol abuse and tobacco use prevention. Its alcohol materials focused on drunk driving, binge drinking, and underage drinking, but not on the alcohol industry’s marketing to college students. BACCHUS’ leading funder was Anheuser Busch, maker of Budweiser and Bud Light beer, and a rival of the Miller Brewing Company, a subsidiary of Philip Morris, maker of Marlboro cigarettes. BACCHUS merged with NASPA (National Association of Student Personnel Administrators) in 2014. NASPA does not publish the names of corporate donors in its annual report.

“The Rest of the Story: Tobacco and Alcohol News Analysis and Commentary
…Providing the whole story behind tobacco and alcohol news.”

Blog by Dr. Michael Siegel, Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University
January 21, 2011

“The Bacchus Network Reaches a New Height for Hypocrisy: Alcohol Industry-Funded Front Group Demands that Colleges Not Accept Tobacco Company Funding

In what is surely the height of hypocrisy and what must become the new example for defining hypocrisy, the Bacchus Network– a non-profit organization that promotes college-based health education in the areas of tobacco and alcohol — is demanding that colleges reject tobacco company funding and sponsorship while itself accepting (and hiding) its own funding from an alcohol company.

Although the Bacchus Network web site makes no mention of the fact that the organization is funded by the alcohol industry, if you search its financial records. you’ll see that it reported contributions from Anheuser-Busch of $120,000 in 2009 and $190,000 in 2008.

In addition, Anheuser-Busch has a seat on its Board of Directors.

Thus, not only is the Bacchus Network heavily funded by the alcohol industry, but it is apparently hiding that funding. You have to search deep into the financial records to find out that it is heavily funded by Anheuser-Busch.

This is the classic definition of an alcohol industry front group.

To boot, the web site is obsessed with individual-level interventions that put all the responsibility for alcohol use on the college students. The entire blame for the problem is on the individual. Nowhere on the site does it discuss the role of alcohol industry marketing and in particular, the marketing of alcohol on college campuses.

This is of course no surprise, as I would certainly expect that an alcohol company contribution of $120,000 would be enough to deter any thought of actually discussing the role of alcohol marketing on alcohol use among college students.

The rest of the story, then, is that while the Bacchus Network demands that colleges not accept tobacco industry funding, the organization itself is heavily funded by an alcohol company.

It is laughable that Anheuser-Busch is paying out money like this to tell colleges that it is despicable to take tobacco money, but at the same time, it is fine to take alcohol money. Which kills more college students each year? Tobacco or alcohol. Clearly, the latter.

It is a brilliant scheme by Anheuser-Busch. By making these annual payments, the company is getting its money’s worth. In return, the Bacchus Network is taking the focus off of alcohol marketing and putting it onto individual education and responsibility. It is also taking the focus off of banning alcohol use on campus and putting it on banning tobacco use on campus.

This is money very well spent for the alcohol industry.

I thought it was the height of hypocrisy when the American Legacy Foundation refused to give money to schools that took tobacco money, while nearly every penny of the Foundation’s budget comes from the tobacco companies and the Foundation sought voluntary donations from the tobacco companies to fund its own work.”

“Campus Tobacco Control Basics
Student Leader Training
TOBACCO FREE U”

Cover of a thick instructional packet with a dozen booklets on reducing cigarette smoking, hookah use, and spitting tobacco use by college students, published by The BACCHUS Network
Undated (circa 2006)

“TOBACCO FREE U:
A Crash Course in Campus Tobacco Prevention and Control”

Cover of a 72-page book published by The BACCHUS Network
Undated (circa 2006)

“The BACCHUS Network
Campus TOBACCO CONTROL Basics”
Student Leader Training
TOBACCO FREE U”

Cover of a handbook published by The BACCHUS Network
Undated (circa 2006)

Part III - Recruitment

Universities and Tobacco

University of Wisconsin Smoking Ban, 1991

University of Alabama Smoking Ban, 2014

Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights Association, the premier resource for smoke free campus policies

CODA: Bacchus, an alcohol industry-funded group, has supported smoke-free campuses, too

Contact