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Tobacco Free School
Next fall when Hastings students return to school, they will return to campuses that are tobacco-free.

That's a result of action taken this week by the Hastings Board of Education. The board approved a policy that will require that all Hastings Public Schools property and facilities be tobacco-free beginning August 1, as reported by the Hastings Tribune.

Hastings Public School buildings and school vehicles have been smoke-free since 1989. Since that time, it has also been against policy for Hastings Public Schools employees and students to use tobacco while participating in class activity or in activities in which they represented Hastings Public Schools.

The new policy will not extend to property that is leased or used by Hastings Public Schools that it does not own.

The issue of tobacco-free school campuses has received attention this year as a result of a bill proposed by State Sen. Jeremy Nordquist of Omaha. The bill, LB313, would require school campuses throughout Nebraska to be tobacco-free.

 
 
Nebraska Methodist College in Omaha has earned recognition from a leading national non-profit organization for its tobacco-free campus policy.

The BACCHUS Network, which focuses on health and safety issues concerning college students, has officially certified Nebraska Methodist College (The Josie Harper Campus) as a Gold Award winner for its tobacco-free campus policy. 

The policy prohibits all tobacco use, sales, marketing, and promotions on all property owned, leased or under the control of the university. 

Nebraska Methodist College, which met nine of the organization’s 11 tobacco-free campus policy standards, is only the second campus nationally to receive the Gold Award and the only campus in Nebraska with the designation.

Nebraska Methodist College’s policy, implemented in November 2006 as part of Methodist Health System’s policy, prohibits all tobacco use, sales, marketing and promotions on property owned, leased, or under the control of Nebraska Methodist College.

"The process of being a tobacco-free campus has been an ongoing project since 2006," Christine Hamilton, Respiratory Care Program Director at NMC. "The need for a formal policy adoption prohibiting smoking and tobacco use was proposed to support the health and wellness among the students, faculty and staff on the NMC campus. With the policy we adopted we wanted to make sure we were clear there is to be no use of tobacco products on our campus or at college-sponsored events off campus as well."

Hamilton said Nebraska Methodist College will put up more signs to enforce the tobacco-free policy.

Each year, BACCHUS accepts submissions for certification from colleges and universities across the country. The certification levels correspond to 11 standards of tobacco-free policy, ranging from prohibiting tobacco use and sales to divestiture of tobacco company stocks by the college or university. 

“Nebraska Methodist College’s tobacco-free policies provide immediate health benefits and initiate a larger social norm change,” said Drew Hunter, President/CEO of The BACCHUS Network. 

More than 250 colleges and universities in the United States have adopted tobacco-free policies. 

"Many campuses across the country are saying, 'Tobacco use does not support the campus vision of health and well-being for all,'" Hunter said. "Colleges have a responsibility to create environments that promote health and a lifetime of learning—for both tobacco users and non-users."

Tobacco-free policies lead to more people quitting tobacco use and make it less likely that others will start using them. 

“Conventional wisdom says that once a person turns 18, the risk of starting to use tobacco passes,” says Hunter. “This is not true, and no one knows it better than the tobacco industry. College students, especially, are still experimenting and solidifying health behaviors that they will take with them into the real world. We want to provide them with a healthy foundation upon which they will build their professional and personal lives.”

A full description of the certification levels can be found at www.tobaccofreeU.org.

Founded in 1975 by students at the University of Florida, BACCHUS has grown from a small student group focused on alcohol abuse prevention to the largest college student organization in the country. Today, BACCHUS and its nearly 1,000 affiliate groups focus on topics ranging from drug and alcohol issues, to mental health concerns, to fitness and nutrition.

 
 
Smoke-Free Baseball
Kudos to the Omaha Storm Chasers and Werner Park for plans to open smoke-free.

Here's the smoke-free policy from the Storm Chasers' website:

Smoking
Werner Park is a smoke-free ballpark - smoking is only allowed in designated areas outside of the ticketed area. Guests who fail to comply with the no-smoking policy will be asked to exit the Werner Park grounds. 

The Omaha Storm Chasers are the city's Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. The team was previously known as the Omaha Royals. Opening day 2011 is this Friday, April 15.

Many thanks to Tobacco Free Sarpy for working with the team to make this home run for health. The coalition plans to recognize the Storm Chasers and Werner Park at an upcoming luncheon for making the choice to be smoke-free.

The choice by the Omaha Storm Chasers and Werner Park to open smoke-free comes at the same time as a national effort to knock tobacco out of Major League Baseball.

Groups including the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Cancer Society, American Dental Association, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, American Medical Association, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Legacy, Oral Health America and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are calling on Major League Baseball to to tobacco free.

Tobacco was banned in the minor leagues 18 years ago. The National Collegiate Athletic Association and the National Hockey League have also banned it.

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Tobacco Free Sarpy
Highland Meadows Apartments in Bellevue went smoke-free in all apartments January 1. Photo by Carol Maguire.

Kudos to a Bellevue apartment complex for going smoke-free this year.

Members of Tobacco Free Sarpy in March presented a plaque to Highland Meadows Apartments of Bellevue for implementing a 100 percent smoke-free policy in all units as of January 1, 2011. 

Tobacco Free Sarpy presented Property Manager Margaret Stamp a certificate of appreciation for her leadership and support of a safe and healthy smoke-free environment.

Pictured from left, Tobacco Free Sarpy members and Property Manager Stamp: Hanneka Brown, Margaret Stamp, Joan Friedman, and Dorothy Shamblen. 

According to the Adult Tobacco Survey/Social Climate Survey, 85 percent of Nebraskans reported in 2009 that they smoking was not allowed in their homes. That was reported in the Data and Trends on Tobacco Use in Nebraska April 2010.

Because cigarette smoke drifts from apartment to apartment, smoke-free apartments are a great choice. Smoke-free apartments provide health benefits for residents and staff who work in them.  Smoke-free apartments also saves maintenance and rehabilitation costs.

Residents in multi-unit buildings cannot control if they are exposed to smoke caused by their neighbors. Smoke-free policies ensure that residents are protected from secondhand smoke.

Ventilation and air purifiers cannot completely control secondhand smoke. Experts like the Center for Energy and Environment, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers, and the U.S. Surgeon General have commented on the need to eliminate cigarette smoking rather than try to ventilate it.


 
 
As of this week, The Nebraska Medical Center Campus is tobacco-free. Kudos to The Nebraska Medical Center for its leadership in encouraging staff, students and patients to live tobacco-free lives.

Smoking and the use of other tobacco products is not permitted on campus or any other property The Nebraska Medical Center and UNMC Physicians owns, leases or controls effective March 21. UNMC has been tobacco-free for more than a year.

"As health-care organizations, we are excited to set the example for a healthy community," President and CEO Glenn Fosdick said in a statement released by The Nebraska Medical Center. "To many, this will be welcomed as a long-awaited and overdue event.

"Our message is not that everyone must stop smoking. However, as a health-care entity, we clearly cannot support the dangers posed to the health of our patients, staff or visitors."

The Nebraska Medical Center is offering free classes for employees who want to quit smoking or quit tobacco use.
 
 
According to a new study, smoke-free homes and workplaces are linked to reductions in breast-cancer incidence and mortality rates.

That's good news for Nebraskans, who have been protected by a state-wide smoke-free air law since June 1, 2009.

“While the evidence for secondhand smoke and breast-cancer risk remains controversial, this study demonstrates a very strong inverse correlation. States with higher percentages of women working and living in smoke-free spaces have lower breast-cancer rates,” said study co-researcher Dr. Andrew Hyland of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute said in a news release.  

The analysis, conducted by Dr. Hyland and Dr. Kenneth Piazza also of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, is published in the current issue of the journal Tobacco Control.

The study showed a statistically significant decrease in breast-cancer mortality, particularly for younger premenopausal women, as the number of smoke-free homes and workplaces increased. The scientists estimate that about 20 percent of the change in breast-cancer mortality rates is a result of changes in smoke-free home and workplace policies.          

“In spite of the challenges of adjusting for variables, the increasing number of rules prohibiting smoking in both the home and workplace can be linked to declining incidence and mortality rates for breast cancer, and is noteworthy,” said Dr. Hyland.  
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Columbus Christian Schools, St. Anthony’s in Columbus, and Howells Catholic Schools have taken the winning spots in a contest co-sponsored by Tobacco Free Platte County and Tobacco Free Colfax County to recognize Kick Butts Day.

Would you like to know more? Get the details of the effort to reduce tobacco use in Nebraska here.
 
 
Kudos to the Hall County Board of Supervisors for recognizing Kick Butts Day in Grand Island and Hall County.

Kick Butts Day, Wednesday, March 23, is a day of activism that empowers youth to take action against tobacco use at more than 2,000 events from coast to coast. Kick Butts Day was initiated in 1995 by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.  Tobacco Free Hall County is one of many groups participating in the day.