The University is giving serious consideration to making all campuses smoke-free, but before doing so we would like your feedback.
Why should CDU contemplate having smoke-free campuses? In a nutshell, CDU has a responsibility to provide staff, students and visitors with a safe and healthy environment and passive smoke is a known health risk, especially given its multi-sector status.
It is well known that cigarettes contain harmful chemicals, some of which are carcinogenic. These chemicals are also found in environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) which is a combination of mainstream smoke (inhaled and exhaled smoke) and side-stream smoke (floating smoke from the burning end of a cigarette).
Many organisations around the world including the University of Nottingham and the University of Texas, and Australian tertiary institutions such as TAFE WA have gone smoke-free and report that the reduction in air toxins has improved the health of the community through reduced sick days.
It has also lead to a reduction in rubbish and reduced spending on smoking-associated repairs and maintenance. It has also been effective in helping smokers to quit and deterring people from taking up smoking in the first instance.
This issue will be close to the hearts of many. Some 28 percent of Territorians smoke compared with 18 percent of our inter-state counterparts. Many consider that people should be entitled to smoke and that the health risks are insignificant compared with other health problems. Some also question whether a smoke-free environment can be fully enforced.
So, is it time for CDU to “take a breath of fresh air”? We’d love to hear from you.
If you wish to have your say on the University becoming smoke-free, please take five minutes (less time than it takes to smoke a cigarette) and complete the survey at the following link. You can leave comments at the end of the survey where your anonymity will be maintained.
The survey can be found at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/cdusmokefreecampus