The proposed review is relevant to CTCRI priorities in that it will increase knowledge of current tobacco control policy/practices and inform policy development and implementation on university campuses across Canada. Researchers in the US report that 25.7% of college students smoke and that 28% of these smokers initiated the behaviour around the age of 19, when most were already in college. The Canadian Tobacco Monitoring Survey (2003) showed that smoking rates increased with use from 18% for Canadians aged 15-19 yrs to 30% for those aged 20-24 yrs. The tobacco industry legally markets to this group and actively targets students aged 18-24 yrs by funding student activities, and providing free cigarettes and promotional items at campus bars and social events to recruit new smokers. It is therefore of utmost importance to provide information for use in the development of effective university campus tobacco control policies to counter tobacco uptake. This review builds on the Callard & Hammond (2004) report "Tobacco on Campus". Their seminal research reviewed the smoking policies of 35 Canadian universities and colleges. They noted that the potential for tobacco control in these institutions has yet to be realised, and that all universities surveyed reported participating in some form of tobacco marketing. We intend to "bookend" this work by:
- Investigating how university tobacco control policies are developed, introduced to students, faculty and staff, implemented and enforced.
- Examining gender sensitivity and bias in policy content and implementation.
- Investigating campus conditions that allow tobacco promotions and sponsorship to occur.
- Surveying all 149 Canadian undergraduate universities to increase knowledge of current policy/practice and to stimulate interest in tobacco control.
We intend to use our findings to provide guidelines and recommendations for policy/ decision-makers and campus tobacco control advocates.
