Dunn proclaims smoke-free day

    The Murray State campus will now be a healthier place to live, work and study, Jody Cofer said- at least for one day.
    University President Randy Dunn signed a proclamation Tuesday in support of the American Cancer Society’s Great American Smoke-Out, designating Nov. 19 as Murray State’s first ever smoke-free day on campus.
    “We’re not going to call out the cigarette police that day or anything,” Dunn said. “It is an effort to call campus attention to the dangers of smoking and try to support folks who do smoke in giving them help.”
    Three students working on a project in their youth and nonprofit leadership class sought Dunn’s support for this proclamation.
    “It means a great deal to have his support; it’s wind behind the sail,” Cofer, program specialist for undergraduate research and student in the YNL class, said.
    Cofer, along with Hannah Durbin, junior from Bardstown, Ky., and Amanda Carrico, senior from Pewee Valley, Ky., paired with Health Services on this project. A second YNL student group is also working on this project.
    The Honors Program Student Council has supported the group. Cofer said his group also plans to approach SGA, as well as several other campus organizations, for additional support.
    “Obviously it’s a no-brainer to support something like this just given the detriment that smoking causes to overall general health,” Dunn said.
    Judy Lyle, health educator and staff nurse at Health Services, has worked with YNL classes for 20 years and is mentoring the groups.
    One group has focused more on the policy behind the smoke-out, and the other has focused on activities associated with it, Lyle said.
    “We understand that the quickest way to turn off a smoker is yelling, ‘You shouldn’t do this,’” he said. “We just want to present this opportunity to quit.”
    Lyle said information tables and quit-kits will be available Nov. 19 in the Curris Center.
    In preparation for the day, one of the YNL  groups will sponsor an ‘adopt-a-smoker’ program starting one week before Nov. 19.
    “A nonsmoker will adopt someone who uses tobacco and good humoredly and gently encourage them to quit for the day,” Lyle said.    
    Cofer said this smoke-free day is the next step in the dialogue of Murray State becoming completely smoke-free.            
    More than 365 colleges around the country are smoke-free with no exceptions, according to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation. 
     University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Bellarmine University and Austin Peay University are smoke-free campuses in the area.
    “I am very realistic about where we are located- we are in the middle of farming country, but this is a place for our students to mature into who they are going to be, and smoking is a hindrance,” Cofer said. “At the end of the day, we are part of something bigger. U of K and U of L might be situated in metropolitan areas, but they’re part of this state too.”
    The last policy change at Murray State related to smoking came 10 years ago when it was banned in residential colleges.
    Dunn said the smoke-free day will not only promote healthy behavior, but also encourage cost benefits to the University through lessened insurance claims.
    “One of the things that we’ve added (to the employee health insurance plan) for this next year is to provide some support for smoking cessation that we haven’t done in the past,” Dunn said. “Beyond just trying to promote something that is good, it impacts the bottom line of the University as far as health insurance costs, as well as probably lost productivity when people have to go outside and smoke.”
    The proclamation signing coincided with Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear’s announcement that the commonwealth will join the National Alliance for Tobacco Cessation. This program, according to a press release, will help 807,000 Kentuckians quit smoking.
    Contact Walters at mia.walters@murraystate. edu.

1 comments

Worth

Sat Nov 7 2009 11:45

I hope this is a step closer to making Murray State "Smoke Free". I get tired of holding my breath everywhere I walk.

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