1. Quantifying littered cigarette butts to measure effectiveness of smoking bans to building perimeters.
- Author
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Seitz CM, Strack RW, Orsini MM, Rosario C, Haugh C, Rice R, Wyrick DL, and Wagner L
- Subjects
- Humans, Students, Guideline Adherence statistics & numerical data, Health Policy, Smoking Prevention, Universities
- Abstract
Objective: The authors estimated the number of violations of a university policy that prohibited smoking within 25 ft of all campus buildings., Participants: The project was conducted by 13 student researchers from the university and a member of the local public health department., Methods: Students quantified cigarette butts that were littered in a 30-day period inside the prohibited smoking area of 7 campus buildings (large residential hall, small residential hall, administrative building, 2 academic buildings, campus cafeteria, and student union)., Results: Investigators found a total of 7,861 cigarette butts (large residential hall: 1,198; small residential hall: 344; administrative building: 107; 2 academic buildings: 1,123 and 806; campus cafeteria: 2,651; and student union: 1,632)., Conclusions: Findings suggest that there is low compliance with the university's smoking policy. The described project may be repeated by students at other universities as a method to advocate for policy change.
- Published
- 2012
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