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Date: March 28, 2017

To: Steven R. Angle PhD.
Chancellor
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

From: Bailey Datz

Subject: Recommendation Report for a Smoke-Free University of Tennessee at

Chattanooga Campus

As a student at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, walking through campus I am

confronted with a choice multiple times a day. I either hold my breath and power walk or walk
through a cloud of secondhand smoke.

Currently, UTC has a policy on smoking on campus. The policy only protects students in
university buildings or around a university buildings entry way. The current policy is loosely
enforced and does not offer enough protection from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.

Upon identifying smoking as a problem on UTCs campus I began researching what secondhand
smoke was and the health effects, analyzed articles on campuses that have banned smoking, and
conducted a student survey to understand UTC students attitudes towards smoking on campus.
After my preliminary research I found that inhaling secondhand smoke can cause numerous
diseaseswhich in severe cases can lead to deathand that the student survey revealed that
65% of student see smoking as a problem on campus.

After concluding that The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga must ban smoking to protect
its students I came up with a proactive initiative to eliminate smoking. I recommend that the
university complete the five tasks in order to successfully eliminate smoking as a problem. UTC
should form a student organization to aid in the smoke-free initiative, set up a reporting systems
for violations, update the online tobacco policy, inform the students of the policy change by
email, and post flyers to remind students of the policy change.

If you have any further questions or comments, please feel free to contact me by phone at (865)
123-4567 or by email at dhm615@mocs.utc.edu.
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The University of Tennessee at Chattanoogas

Smoke Free Initiative: A Recommendation Report

Prepared for: Steven R. Angle PhD.

Chancellor
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Prepared by: Bailey Datz, Student

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

March 28, 2017

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

615 McCallie Ave
Chattanooga, TN 37403
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Purpose

This report will describe how secondhand smoke effects the body and why banning smoking at
UTC could help the student body, the way in which these results were found, and how to
interpret the importance of the results for present and future benefit.

Introduction

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga promotes itself as a safe place to students, but it is
failing to protect its students from a potentially life threating attacker. This attacker is
secondhand smoke. Currently UTC has a smoking policy in place that prohibits smoking in
university buildings and within twenty-five feet of windows, doorways, and ventilation systems
of university buildings ("Tobacco Use Policy"). This policy is loosely enforced and fails to
completely protect students. There is no safe amount of exposure when it comes to secondhand
smoke, and the only way to protect the student body from this attacker is to ban it.

Upon identifying this problem on The University of Tennessee at Chattanoogas campus I came
up with a proactive initiative to eliminate smoking. I identified five task vital to obtaining a
smoke-free campus:
Forming a student organization to promote and work on the smoke-free campus initiative.
Setting up a system where students can report smoking violations via email or phone.
Updating the tobacco policy on UTCs website to reflect the smoking ban.
Informing the student body of the policy change via email on their Mocs email.
Designing and posting flyers around campus to remind students of the policy change, and
encourage them to speak up and enforce the policy.

To successfully ban smoking on The University of Tennessee at Chattanoogas campus I had to

first preform both primary and secondary research. In the following report, I describe my
research methods, the results from research, the conclusions reached based on research results,
and my recommendations.

Research Methods

In order to achieve the five tasks identified as vital to obtaining a smoke-free campus I have
completed preliminary research in three parts:

1. Researching health information

2. Examining articles
3. Conducting a survey

In the following sections, I will discuss the way in which I conducted research and my
motivation behind it.

Part 1: Researching health information

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In order to fully understand and communicate the importance of a smoking ban on campus in
conducting this research, I looked at medical sources on the internet. I was seeking a general
definition of secondhand smoke and information about the health effects of secondhand smoke
on the body, I came upon the Center for Disease Control and American Cancer Society websites
which helped me answer these basic questions.

These sources gave me a foundation to build off of, but the articles and survey offered more
specific information about the topic of smoking on college campuses and more particularly UTC.

Part 2: Examining articles

To gain insight on colleges that have already banned smoking, and their policies I researched a
list of colleges that banned smoking throughout the United States. From the given list, I paid
special attention to the colleges within Tennessee. The lists results for colleges within
Tennessee led me to do further research on more localized policies, such as Chattanooga State
Community College.

After realizing Chattanooga State had banned tobacco entirely I decided to look into why they
came to such a conclusion. Upon doing my research I came across an article in a Chattanooga
news outlet, Chattanooga Times Free Press.

Part 3: Conducting a survey

On Survey Monkey, an online surveying website, I created a survey which I sent out to student
of UTC via Facebook and Twitter. The purpose of this survey was to understand students
attitudes towards smoking on campus. This survey was comprised of four total questions. The
survey was completed by forty total students.

The questions can be seen in the appendix, as well as the results they yielded.

Results

Part 1: Researching health information

To understand why banning smoking is so important to the students health we must fully
understand what secondhand smoke is and how it is harmful. The American Cancer Society
breaks secondhand smoke down into two categories. There is mainstream smoke which is the
smoke exhaled by the smoker, and sidestream smoke is the smoke coming directly off of the
smoking device. Sidestream smoke has smaller particles, which increase the absorption rate into
the cells of the body, and contains more toxins making it more harmful to a nonsmoker than
mainstream smoke (Health Risks of Secondhand Smoke).

These particles from both mainstream and sidestream smoke can have major health effects on the
nonsmoker which breathes them in. Between 2005 and 2009 it was reported that approximately
34,000 nonsmokers died from heart disease due to tobacco smoke inhalation, and that 7,300 died
from lung cancer caused by tobacco smoke inhalation. The Center for Disease Control says that,
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Smokefree laws can reduce the risk for heart disease and lung cancer among nonsmokers
(Secondhand Smoke (SHS) Facts).

Heart disease and lung cancer are only a small fraction of health risks to those who inhale
secondhand smoke. The American Cancer Society claims secondhand smoke is responsible for
twelve types of cancers, besides lung cancer. Both The Center for Disease Control and The
American Cancer Society say that exposure to secondhand smoke can cause someone to become
sick more frequently, and that any amount of tobacco smoke inhalation from a nonsmoker can
affect the nonsmokers health.

Part 2: Examining articles

The list of colleges in the United States that have banned smoking or tobacco usage reports that
fourteen college campuses in Tennessee are tobacco or smoke-free. Over half of these schools
have established such policies on more than one campus. (List of Smoke-Free Campuses).
Among the colleges within Tennessee was Chattanooga State Community College. Chattanooga
State is only about a six-mile distance from UTC and is making advances in student health.

According to a Chattanooga Times Free Press article one of the two the reasons why the
community college banned tobacco entirely was, Is that school officials say they want to
prepare students for a working world that, more and more, shuns smoking (Omarzu, Tim).

Part 3: Conducting a survey

The results from the survey confirm my initial thoughts. Thirty-eight out of forty UTC students
are not smokers. 65% of, the forty, students that took the survey recognize smoking is a problem
on campus. While 57.5% of students say that they encounter smoke on campus more than three
times daily. Finally, a total of 82.5% of students would in fact support a smoking ban on The
University of Tennessee at Chattanoogas campus.

Conclusions

Based on my primary and secondary research it is evident that secondhand smoke is harmful to
those who breathe it in. Secondhand smoke can cause a variety of different diseases and the only
way to protect yourself entirely is to avoid it all together.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanoogas students recognize smoking as a problem on their

campus and the majority would support a smoke free campus. My research supports my smoking
ban initiative at UTC.

Recommendations

Based on the primary and secondary research that I conducted, I recommend that The University
of Tennessee at Chattanooga ban smoking by implementing five tasks:

1. Forming a student organization

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The student organization would promote and work on the smoke-free campus initiative.
They would act as a policing force to safeguard student health as it pertains to smoking
on campus. Any member that sees a student smoking on campus would report it in the
proper fashion.

2. Setting up a report system

This system would be reviewed by an appointed university official. This official would
be responsible for determining any disciplinary action necessary for those who do not
follow the smoking ban. Students can report those who violate the policy via email or
phone.
Email address to report violations: smokefree@utc.edu
Hotline number to report violations: (423) 882-2267.

3. Updating the tobacco policy on UTCs website

Updating the tobacco policy on UTCs website would help inform new and old students
of the changes to the policy. The information on the website would be presented so that it
can be read quickly and easily understood.

4. Informing the student body of the policy change

The best way to reach the whole student body and inform them of the policy change fast
and efficiently is via email, on their Mocs email address. The email would entail not only
the policy change, but why the policy has changed. It would also include some of the
research done on the effects of secondhand smoke on the body so that students
understand why this rule is important to follow.

5. Designing and posting flyers around campus

The flyers would remind students of the policy change, and encourage them to speak up
and enforce the policy. The flyers would also have the number and email address of the
reporting system.
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Works Cited

Health Risks of Secondhand Smoke. American Cancer Society, The American Cancer Society,

13 Nov. 2015, www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/tobacco-and-cancer/secondhand-

smoke.html. Accessed 28 Feb. 2017.

List of Smoke-Free Campuses. List of Smoke Free Campuses, Tobacco Free College Campus

Initiative, www.tobaccofreecampus.org/list-of-smokefree-campuses/. Accessed 28 Feb.

2017.

Omarzu, Tim. "Chattanooga State to Ban Smoking July 1." Timesfreepress.com. Chattanooga

Times Free Press, 26 June 2016. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.

<http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/business/aroundregion/story/2016/jun/26/chatt-

Secondhand Smoke (SHS) Facts. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention, 21 Feb. 2017,

www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/secondhand_smoke/general_facts/.

Accessed 28 Feb. 2017.

"Tobacco Use Policy." Tobacco Use Policy. University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, n.d. Web.

31 Mar. 2017. <http://www.utc.edu/safety-risk-management/safety/tobacco-use-

policy.php>.
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Appendix

Figure 1: Shows the number of smoking students verse nonsmoking students.

Figure 2: Examines student's attitudes about smoke on campus.

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Figure 3: Shows how frequently students come into contact with smoke from tobacco products.

Figure 4: Reveals the number of students that would support at smoking ban at UTC.