Tobacco Use Prevalence Among University Faculty, Staff and Students

Many recent studies have suggested the need for stronger policies to reduce smoking on college campuses. However, each college needs to have accurate and reliable data pertaining to the prevalence of tobacco use on campus by students, faculty, and staff prior to assist in the policy level discussions. The purpose of this study was to investigate the tobacco use prevalence among faculty, staff, and students at a large southeastern university. Using a mixed mode methodology of notification and participation request, surveys based on the American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment were administered to randomly selected students and employees to gather relevant health data, including tobacco use data. Of the 4,000 students contacted to complete the online survey, 1,237 were returned. Of the 2,500 employees requested to complete either an online or paper survey, 1,302 were returned. Results of the survey showed faculty, staff, and students use tobacco less than the general college population and a majority of smokers reported their intent to quit in the next 6 months. Results will be presented that detail the relationships of the smoking and intent to quit variables across categories (student, staff, and faculty) based on demographic variables (age, gender, race, ethnicity, and education level) and health risk variables (diet, perceived health status, alcohol use, etc). This study will assist university level health educators in understanding many of the complexities of tobacco use on college campuses.