On-Campus Health Services Combating Smoking, Vaping
Two grants received by Stockton University's Department of Health, Outreach, Promotion and Education (HOPE) will fund a task force and programs and initiatives geared toward making Stockton a 100% tobacco-free campus.
Galloway, N.J. – Stockton University’s Department of Health, Outreach, Promotion and Education (HOPE) recently received two grants that will support the department’s smoking and vaping prevention efforts and programs on campus.
The first grant, awarded during the spring semester, was from the Truth Initiative, a national public health organization dedicated to “achieving a culture where all young people reject smoking, vaping and nicotine.”
Over 13 months, Devon Tapp, the director of HOPE, and health educator Kristen Welsh-Capaldi will lead a campus task force with three main objectives:
- Assess smoking, vaping and tobacco use behaviors and attitudes;
- Identify a cessation support plan for current smokers and vapers;
- Develop a tobacco- and vape-free campus policy.
The task force will seek the involvement of student leaders on campus. This collaborative approach aims to empower students and mobilize their peers in the fight against smoking and vaping, making them an integral part of the solution.
Tapp is “ecstatic” about the positive student interest in this initiative.
“At one of our health education tabling events, over 50 students signed up to join the student task force. This response highlights the crucial role of providing education and resources to university students and underscores that this is a health issue many young adults relate to and are eager to advocate for," Tapp said.
The second grant, awarded in April, was from the New Jersey Prevention Network’s NJ Colleges & Universities Implementing Tobacco and Smoke-Free Policies (NJ CUITS). It is a continuation of a grant that was initially awarded in 2018.
The NJ CUITS Project – an initiative funded through the state Department of Health that aims to make all campuses in the state 100% tobacco-free – will “support evidence-based strategies to reduce tobacco initiation and use, support cessation and reduce the impact of secondhand smoke."
Similar to the Truth Initiative, the NJ CUITS program expects that HOPE will reinstitute the task force initially formed and conduct an environmental scan on current tobacco and vape use on campus.
In addition, the grant will allow HOPE to:
- Work to strengthen the college’s campus tobacco policy towards 100% tobacco-free;
- Participate in Tobacco Free for A Healthy NJ’s Tobacco-Free NJ CUITS Network, which will meet quarterly;
- Submit monthly updates to NJPN on progress made;
- Provide the current tobacco policy for analysis and submit the final policy when the 100% tobacco-free status has been reached.
"I am deeply grateful for the exceptional partnerships we've cultivated with our grant providers and for the outstanding dedication of our faculty, staff and students who tirelessly work toward making a 100% smoke-free and tobacco-free policy a reality,” Tapp said. “Promoting a 100% smoke-free policy university-wide has been a challenge at Stockton for the past decade, but we are enthusiastic about the positive changes on the horizon."
– Story by Loukaia Taylor
Students Share Projects on Smoking and Vaping
November 25, 2019
Galloway, N.J. - The health risks of smoking have been known for decades. The potential dangers of vaping are just starting to get public notice.
Students in Associate Professor of Nursing Larider Ruffin’s Smoking & Vaping Class shared research they did on the topics as part of National Great Smokeout Day on Nov. 21.
“Vaping is common, I see it everywhere,” said student Katie Doxsey of Marlton, an education major. “It’s much more popular than cigarettes.”
Jamira Junne of Pleasantville, a health sciences major, said young people are becoming more aware of the potential dangers of vaping because of recent publicity.
“They are seeing the stories on the news and are starting to realize it may not be safe,” she said.
Ruffin, who is a certified tobacco treatment specialist, said part of his goal is to raise awareness campus wide and in the community of the health impact of smoking and vaping. The class display in front of the library included a set of yellowed “teeth” and a jar showing how much tar and nicotine is inhaled by a smoker in a year.
– Story by Diane D'Amico
