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Solutions for Wayne States Ineffective No-Smoking Policy

Solutions for Wayne States Ineffective

No-Smoking Policy

Prepared for: The Wayne State Smoke-free Campus Task Force,

Wayne State University

Prepared by: Mohammed Albonajem

April 3, 2016

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Solutions for Wayne States Ineffective No-Smoking Policy
Wayne State University
42 W Warren Ave,
Detroit, MI, 48202
Dear members of the Wayne State Smoke-free Campus Task Force:
This document contains a report regarding the current Wayne State smoke-free
program and its inability to prevent students and faculty members from smoking on
school grounds. This report is in response to the Wayne State smoke and tobacco-free
policy that was put into effect August 19, 2015, in which the policy incorrectly addresses
the solution towards an actual smoke-free Wayne State University. This report discusses a
few errors that exist in the Wayne State smoke-free policy and includes a new policy that
could potentially replace the current smoke-free policy.
I have proposed the following viable solutions that could improve the effectiveness of
Wayne States current no-smoking policy:

Encourage more students to adhere to this policy by passing out flyers, and
handing out hard copies of the current smoke-free policy.
Publically notify Wayne State students and faculty members that smoking within
the schools premises can result in possible tickets/charges made out by the WSU
police.
Make changes to this policy in which all individuals within school grounds are
affected by this policy, rather than just Wayne State students and faculty members.
Instead of the smoke-free policies effectiveness relying on a smokers willingness
to comply, incorporate a change that allows students to notify the WSU police
when a student or faculty member disobeys this policy. These notifications, in
turn, can result in the smoker being warned or fined by the WSU police.

To further research the Wayne State smoke-free policy and its effectiveness, I have
surveyed three current Wayne State students and their knowledge of the policy. This
survey includes the individuals response on how effective the student may think the
current Wayne State smoke-free policy actually is, based off of their experience with
smokers within the school campus.
Thank you for your time in allowing me to research these solutions. If you have any
further questions, contact me at fx9439@wayne.edu
Sincerely,
Mohammed Albonajem

Table of Contents

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Solutions for Wayne States Ineffective No-Smoking Policy
Letter of Transmittal... 2
Executive Summary........ 4
Introduction......... 5
Background. 6
Research Methods7
Results and Discussion... 8
Conclusion........ 14
Recommendations......... 15
Work Cited.16
Appendix .. 17

Executive Summary

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Solutions for Wayne States Ineffective No-Smoking Policy
The current Wayne State smoke-free/tobacco-free policy is wildly ineffective towards
attempting to prevent students and faculty members from smoking on school property.
Because of this, I have created several different policy changes meant to improve Wayne
State no-smoking policy currently in effect. These solutions are:

Encourage more students to adhere to this policy by passing out flyers, and
handing out hard copies of the current smoke-free policy.
Publically notify Wayne State students and faculty members that smoking within
the schools premises can result in possible tickets/charges made out by the WSU
police.
Make changes to this policy in which all individuals within school grounds are
affected by this policy, rather than just Wayne State students and faculty members.
Instead of the smoke-free policies effectiveness relying on a smokers willingness
to follow this policy, incorporate a change that allows students to notify the WSU
police when a student or faculty member disobeys this policy. These notifications,
in turn, can result in the smoker being warned or fined by the WSU police.

These solutions were researched through surveying several Wayne State students and
their opinions on said solution. Prior to this, these Students were given hard copies of the
Wayne State smoke-free policy and asked to identify any mistakes/flaws that they might
find (meant to compare their response/opinion of the policy with mine). The solutions
were then evaluated based on the following criteria:

Experiences with smokers in Wayne State who disobey this policy.

Experiences in which an individual was harmed through the process of second
hand smoking in Wayne State.
Thoughts on how to lessen the number of smokers Inside Wayne State
Universitys campus.
Beliefs/Opinions on smoking in general and the dangers associated with first and
second-hand smoking.
Possible ideas on how to improve the effectiveness of the Wayne State smoke-free
policy

After all the responses of the survey were accounted for, the data was then collected
in order to create policy changes/additions that could be used to improve Wayne State
smoke-free currently in effect. Using the data provided, I concluded that the best solution
to the issue with Wayne State smokers is to encourage more students to adhere to this
policy, as well as well as publically notify all Wayne State students and faculty members
that smoking in public could result in a fine/ticket issued by the WSU police. Inability to
follow through with this policy could also result in a student being subjected to the
student code of conduct, while Wayne State employees are subjected to the disciplinary
action process.
Introduction

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Solutions for Wayne States Ineffective No-Smoking Policy
The main reason for this proposal is to provide a solution to the issue of smokers
who continue to disobey Wayne States no-smoking policy. As of right now, the
punishment for smoking within Wayne States campus is nearly non-existent. Because of
this, students and faculty members feel free to openly smoke on school grounds, which
has negative consequences towards not only humans, but animals as well, who are prone
to toxic smoke inhalation via second-hand smoking. In order to resolve this issue, a
change must be implemented towards Wayne States smoke-free policy to improve the
effectiveness of this policy.
Altering the current smoke-free policy, or implementing an entirely new policy,
can significantly reduce the amount of smokers within Wayne State. Due to the harmful
toxins associated with smoking, a change in smoke-free policy would reduce the amount
of harmful toxins circulating Wayne States campus. A new no-smoking policy could also
prevent smokers from smoking almost entirely, which holds medical and financial
benefits towards the individual.

Background

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Solutions for Wayne States Ineffective No-Smoking Policy
The Wayne State smoke-free policy was implemented on August 19, 2015, in
response to the staggering amounts of students and faculty members who smoke inside
the Wayne State campus. In order to fix this issue the Wayne State Smoke-free Campus
Task Force, along with the approval of Wayne State President M. Roy Wilson, created the
Smoke-Free and Tobacco-Free Campus Policy. This policy was able to reduce the amount
of smoke inhalation across school grounds but did so in a way that was somewhat
ineffective.
Currently, within the Wayne State campus, there exist several reminders that
Wayne state is an official smoke-free university. These reminders, such as signs and
posters publically displayed throughout the campus, provide a constant reminder towards
students that smoking is illegal amongst school grounds. These reminders, however, do
not provide further information regarding this policy, and how the policy itself is
enforced. They completely undermine that fact that students and faculty members caught
smoking are prone to several punishments, such as:

Being subjected towards the Student Code of Conduct.

Possible warnings and tickets given by the WSU Police.
Being subjected towards the appropriate disciplinary action process (strictly for
Wayne State employees).

Instead of warning students and Wayne State employees of the potential dangers of
smoking on school grounds, these reminders only state a message, generally no
smoking, that holds little-to-no authority. Another issue with these particular reminders
is the lack of information regarding the dangers of first and second-hand smoking. No
information is provided on the dangers of smoking, here are a few:

One-third of all deaths from coronary heart disease within the United States are
attributable to smoking and secondhand smoke.
One-third of all cancer deaths in the United States are due to smoking and
secondhand smoke.
Smoking causes general adverse effects on the body, including inflammation and
decreased immune function
On average, smokers die more than ten years earlier than nonsmokers.
Smoking causes diminished overall health, increased absenteeism from work, and
increased health care utilization and cost

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Solutions for Wayne States Ineffective No-Smoking Policy
Research Methods
To create this report I chose to conduct a survey amongst several Wayne State
students who are aware of the no-smoking policy present across Wayne States campus.
This survey would be given to each student after a copy of the smoke-free/tobacco-free
policy has been read. The students would then be given a survey that includes questions
on how effective the student thinks the Wayne States smoke-free policy is. The survey
also includes a response section in which the student addresses concerns and issues with
the policy, as well as any changes they would like to implement into this policy.
The process of conducting this survey occurred within the Purdue and Kresge
Library inside of Wayne State University. All the students were given the same raw
material: a printed copy of the Wayne State smoke-free policy, a single pencil, and a
questionnaire. The entire process for each student ranged from 10-15 minutes and was
done with the consent of all those who volunteered in this survey.
After the data was obtained from each students survey, I would then analyze the
data to incorporate into a graph. Doing so would display my information in an easy to
understand, and not only benefit me but my viewers as well. I also compared all the
information side by side to try and distinguish and similarity or differences in response.

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Results and Discussion
Questionnaire Response 1: The response obtained from surveying the first student via
questionnaire.
Are you aware of the dangers smoking presents to an individual (both first and secondhand smoking)?
Yes I am more than aware.
Have you ever experienced an individual publically disobey the smoke-free policy within
Wayne State?
Yes, I have on several occasions.
If so, were you effected in anyway by this individual smoking?
No, Not that I am aware of.
Were you aware of Wayne States Smoke-free policy prior to reading this document?
No, I was only aware of some aspects of the policy.
Was there any information in this policy you found surprising?
Yes, I was actually surprised the police enforced this policy. I figured the people who
made this policy were the ones enforcing it.
Do you think there is any unnecessary information within this policy?
No, I dont think so.
Are there any additions you would like to add to this policy?
No, not really.
Do you think the Wayne State smoke-free policy is effective? If not explain why you think
so?
No, not at all. I see students smoking on campus constantly on a daily basis.
Are there ways you think you can make this policy more effective?
Yes, by adding more authority to the policy so more people actually follow it.

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Solutions for Wayne States Ineffective No-Smoking Policy
Table 1: Response of first participant/student (based on a yes/no basis) on each question.
1

"
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Questionnaire Response 2: The response obtained from surveying the second student via
questionnaire.
Are you aware of the dangers smoking presents to an individual (both first and secondhand smoking)?
Most of them, yes.
Have you ever experienced an individual publically disobey the smoke-free policy within
Wayne State?
Yes, I see it happen all the time.
If so, were you effected in anyway by this individual smoking?
Yes, but Only in some cases where the person was too close to me and I was able to
inhale the cigarette smoke
Were you aware of Wayne States Smoke-free policy prior to reading this document?
Yes, I read the policy before but cant remember every detail
Was there any information in this policy you found surprising?
No.
Do you think there is any unnecessary information within this policy?
No, I think most of the information in the policy seems about right
Are there any additions you would like to add to this policy?
Yes, Shouldnt this policy also apply to people who are not Wayne State students end
employees? It seems like those are the only people this policy applies to

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Solutions for Wayne States Ineffective No-Smoking Policy
Do you think the Wayne State smoke-free policy is effective? If not explain why you think
so?
In some ways yes, but a lot of students still smoke in campus so not really.
Are there ways you think you can make this policy more effective?
Yes, By letting more people know about this article. I was completely unaware of the
policy before I actually read it. More students should actually know this policy to
understand how it works.
Table 2: Response of second participant/student (based on a yes/no basis) on each
question
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Questionnaire Response 3: The response obtained from surveying the third student via
questionnaire.
Are you aware of the dangers smoking presents to an individual (both first and secondhand smoking)?
Yes.
Have you ever experienced an individual publically disobey the smoke-free policy within
Wayne State?
Yes, although Im not on campus a lot I still see tons of people smoking in public.
If so, were you effected in anyway by this individual smoking?
Yes, sometimes in class I sit next to a student that reeks of cigarette smoke. The smell is
almost too much to deal with for me.
Were you aware of Wayne States Smoke-free policy prior to reading this document?
No, not for the most part.

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Solutions for Wayne States Ineffective No-Smoking Policy
Was there any information in this policy you found surprising?
Yes, I did not now this policy was for chewing tobacco and vaping pens; I figured it was
only for marijuana and cigarettes.
Do you think there is any unnecessary information within this policy?
No.
Are there any additions you would like to add to this policy?
No.
Do you think the Wayne State smoke-free policy is effective? If not explain why you think
so?
No, I think a lot more people would smoke if this policy didnt exist but a considerable
amount of people still smoke on campus even though this policy exists. Because of that I
think the policy is only somewhat effective.
Are there ways you think you can make this policy more effective?
Yes, maybe making the police enforce this policy more strictly. Ive never actually seen
someone get punished for smoking in public even though so many people do it
Table 3: Response of third participant/student (based on a yes/no basis) on each question
1

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Solutions for Wayne States Ineffective No-Smoking Policy
Table 4: Collective responses of all participants/students (based on a yes/no basis) on
each question.
3

Number of
1

Number of

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Solutions for Wayne States Ineffective No-Smoking Policy
Discussion
Examining the results of all three students not only provides an idea as to what
additions I should make to the current smoke-free policy, but also offers valuable
information regarding the effectiveness of this particular policy. Utilizing these responses
would serve a purpose of providing vital information I could implement towards my
additions. Doing so would reflect not only my opinions alone but the opinions of three
other Wayne State students as well.
Considering that all the responses vary in result, the similarities shown amongst
these responses were quite shocking. Surprisingly some of the responses acquired were
all identical in several questions. This similarity in responses is especially evident in
questions #1, #2, #8, and #9. The similarity shown is also an indication that all three
students were aware of the dangers of smoking and witnessed first-hand this smoke-free
policy being broken within the Wayne State campus. Another similarity that all the three
students held was the idea that Wayne State smoke-free policy currently being used was
(and still is) ineffective, and that changes were necessary to improve the effectiveness of
this policy.
As for the remaining questions, excluding questions #1, #2, #8, and #9, another
resemblance was shown across the responses. In particular, the majority of students
surveyed were either uninformed of the Wayne State smoke-free policy or were only
aware of certain aspects of the policy. This lack of knowledge regarding the policy
brought up a valid point as to why the policy itself was ineffective; it could be that those
who disobey this policy could be completely unaware of the policys existence.
An important aspect of this policy was also brought up during this survey. One of
the students partaking in this survey indicated that they were unaware that the WSU
enforces this law. The students lack of knowledge on the WSUs affiliation with this
policy is primarily due to the fact the WSU does very little to enforce this policy,
regardless of the fact that this policy is consistently broken. Another one of the students
surveyed also brought up the fact that they were unaware of the several forms of smoking
(including tobacco, vaping pens, E-cigarettes, etc.) this policy supposedly banned.
Considering that these forms of smoking are still used quite significantly within the
school campus, and pose a threat similar to that of cigarettes, offers evidence that the
Wayne State no-smoking policy is ineffective not only towards cigarettes but other forms
of smoking as well.
This questionnaire also brought up the fact that an entirely new policy was not
necessary. Considering that the students apart of this survey felt that there was no
unnecessary information within this policy, the only change needed was to implement
additions to the policy. The creation of a whole new policy would be worthless; instead,
extensions should be made to this policy in order to improve its effectiveness

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Solutions for Wayne States Ineffective No-Smoking Policy
Conclusion
Surveying students based on their opinions on the Wayne State smoke-free policy
offered vital information towards identifying issues with this policy. In particular, this
survey was able to provide proper information on what made the current smoke-free
policy so ineffective, and did so in a way that could be used to formulate additions
towards the smoke-free policy currently in effect. Instead of attempting to create an
entirely new policy that may or may not work, I could instead make practical adjustments
to the present policy in order to improve its effectiveness. One of the adjustments I could
chose to implement from this survey would be to add more authority to the policy in
effect and begin to teach students/faculty members how the policy functions. Doing so
would significantly reduce the number of unwanted smokers inside of Wayne States
campus, and in turn, improve the general safety of all living beings inside of Wayne State,
who were (and still are) subjected to the unwanted toxins produced by smoking.

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Solutions for Wayne States Ineffective No-Smoking Policy
Recommendations
In order for Wayne State to truly became a smoke-free university, it would in the
schools best intentions to incorporate these solutions:
Encourage more students to adhere to this policy by passing out flyers, and
handing out hard copies of the current smoke-free policy.
Publically notify Wayne State students and faculty members that smoking within
the schools premises can result in possible tickets/charges made out by the WSU
police.
Make changes to this policy in which all individuals within school grounds are
affected by this policy, rather than just Wayne State students and faculty members.
Instead of the smoke-free policies effectiveness relying on a smokers willingness
to follow this policy, incorporate a change that allows students to notify the WSU
police when a student or faculty member disobeys this policy. These notifications,
in turn, can result in the smoker being warned or fined by the WSU police.

Work Cited

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Solutions for Wayne States Ineffective No-Smoking Policy
Committee - Smoke and Tobacco Free Campus - Wayne State University. (n.d.).
Retrieved April 15, 2016, from http://wayne.edu/smoke-free/committee/
Health Effects of Cigarette Smoking. (2015). Retrieved April 15, 2016, from
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/health_effects/effects_cig_
smoking/#cancer
Smoking: Do you really know the risks? (n.d.). Retrieved April 15, 2016, from
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/QuitSmoking/QuittingSmoking
/Smoking-Do-you-really-know-the risks_UCM_322718_Article.jsp#VxJPi5Mr
JE4

Appendix

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Solutions for Wayne States Ineffective No-Smoking Policy
Raw copy of questionnaire given to each participant:

Wayne State smoke-free policy questionnaire

Answer each individual question on a Yes or No basis, and also provide your
response to the question.
Are you aware of the dangers smoking presents to an individual (both first and second-hand
smoking)?

Have you ever experienced an individual publically disobey the smoke-free policy within Wayne
State?

If so, were you effected in anyway by this individual smoking?

Were you aware of Wayne States Smoke-free policy prior to reading this document?

Was there any information in this policy you found surprising?

Do you think there is any unnecessary information within this policy?

Are there any additions you would like to add to this policy?

Do you think the Wayne State smoke-free policy is effective? If not explain why you think so?

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Are there ways you think you can make this policy more effective?