Smoke-Free and Tobacco-Free Policies in Colleges and Universities - United States and Territories, 2017

What is already known about this topic? Cigarette smoking causes an estimated 480,000 U.S. deaths annually, including 41,000 from secondhand smoke exposure. Nearly all adult cigarette smokers start smoking before age 26 years, making smoke-free and tobacco-free policies at colleges and universities important. What is added by this report? As of November 2017, at least 2,082 U.S. colleges and universities had smoke-free policies, twice as many as in 2012. Among these campuses, 1,743 (83.7%) had tobacco-free policies and some specifically prohibited electronic cigarette use (1,658 [79.6%]) and hookah smoking (854 [41.0%]). What are the implications for public health practice? Efforts to monitor, promote, implement, and enforce smoke-free and tobacco-free policies in U.S. colleges and universities can help reduce the prevalence of tobacco product use and secondhand smoke exposure among those who learn, live, work, and gather in these environments. © 2018, Department of Health and Human Services. All Rights reserved.