Thompson Rivers University (TRU) will participate in an innovative provincial tobacco initiative by the BC Lung Association in conjunction with the BC Healthy Living Alliance to reduce tobacco use among young adults.

The two-year Smoke-Free Post-Secondary Initiative aims to support TRU by improving student and staff access to cessation resources and helping in the development of campus-wide smoke-free policies. This includes ensuring protection from tobacco marketing, creating more smoke-free campus spaces, developing cessation resources for students and faculty, and educating trade students on tobacco as a health and safety issue in the workplace.

“Post-secondary institutions represent an important setting where this population can be reached. We are excited to work with leading post-secondary institutions in B.C. to reduce tobacco use among young adults,” said Scott McDonald, Executive Director, BC Lung Association.

The TRU Wellness Centre will be the official liaison with the BC Healthy Living Alliance for this two-year pilot project. The centre has been involved with tobacco initiatives on campus. Some of these initiatives include hosting an annual Great Canadian Smoke-out Challenge as well as collaborating with the TRU Respiratory Therapy Department and Interior Health Tobacco Reduction program on campus smoking cessation and education programs.

“We’ve been offered a unique opportunity to network and collaborate with other post secondary institutions across the province,” said TRU Wellness coordinator Chelsea Corsi. “This is a great way to share ideas and become more innovative in the types of tobacco programs we can offer on campus and the types of tobacco policies we can develop.

“Most of society is well aware of the health risks associated with tobacco use and exposure second hand smoke, but we also know how difficult it is for people to quit and stay quit. My hope is that the TRU Wellness Centre can become the catalyst and support for students and employees to quit for good,” Corsi added.

The first step is to form a committee that will seek involvement from students, faculty, staff, and administration. The group will plan and help implement initiatives on campus in time for September 2008.

The motivation to focus on post-secondary students stems from the following statistics:
-Young adults aged 20-24 have the highest rate of smoking in the province.
-Today’s students account for one quarter of all young adult smokers.
-37 per cent of young adults aged 20-29 years are enrolled in school either full- or part-time.
-45 per cent of individuals who ever smoked daily begin smoking daily between the ages of 18 and 29 years.

Contact:
Chelsea Corsi
TRU Wellness Centre Coordinator
(250) 828-5010
Tyler Janzen
Project Manager, Smoke-Free Post-Secondary Initiative
(604-637-0114)