Smoking-Free Policies and Smoking Behaviors among Historically Black Colleges and Universities Students in the United States

Abstract

Background: There is limited research on the impacts of smoke-free policies on students’ attitudes and smoking behaviors at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States. This study examined African American students’ attitudes toward differential smoke-free campus policies and their smoking behavior at two HBCUs in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Methods: In this original study, 202 African American undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at two urban HBCUs participated and completed the online and in-person surveys conducted between October and December 2019. Descriptive statistics (Chi-square χ² and t-statistics) and multivariable logistic regression were used to examine differences in smoking attitudes and behaviors by smoking-free policies.

Results: One of the two surveyed HBCUs supported a comprehensive smoke-free policy (CSFP), which prohibits any tobacco use, including smoking, anywhere on campus at any time. The other HBCU followed a regular smoke-free policy (RSFP), which limits smoking to certain designated areas. The majority of students at the two schools reported that the smoke-free policy had not affected their smoking behavior. The multivariable analysis did not indicate a statistically significant association between students’ attitudes toward smoke-free policies and their smoking behavior. Furthermore, the difference in smoking prevalence between the two schools was not statistically significant by policy type.

Conclusions and Implications for Translation: Smoke-free polices have the potential to educate about smoking and impact attitudes toward smoking. Implementing and enforcing a comprehensive or regular smoke-free policy is an essential initiative to ensure a healthy learning environment for students. Understanding the context-specific factors that contribute to smoking behaviors among African American students provides additional important insights into developing programs for students at HBCUs.

Copyright © 2020 Martin, Jr. et al. Published by Global Health and Education Projects, Inc. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License CC BY 4.0.