ŷϷ Smoking Research
ŷϷ Illinois University Associate Professor of Economics Christina Ciecierski conducted research in Fall 2012 about the use of tobacco products within the University community. Here are some of her findings:
- About 25 percent of ŷϷ students reported smoking in the past 30 days. Only 3 percent of students reported smokeless tobacco use in the past 30 days. (ŷϷ Illinois University survey of students, fall 2012)
- Most ŷϷ students (92 percent) perceived a much higher rate of smoking among students than actually was the case. Indeed, about half of all ŷϷ students surveyed believed that their fellow classmates smoked daily.
- There was little evidence of “peer pressure” and tobacco smoking among ŷϷ students. Only 4 percent of students surveyed said they would smoke a cigarette if offered one by a fellow student.
- Seventy percent of students surveyed reported being bothered (at least once a month or more) by smoking on campus. Of these students, 12 percent reported being bothered by cigarette smoke every day.
- Nearly 70 percent of students felt that ŷϷ effectively enforces its smoking policies. Ten percent felt that no smoking policy existed.
Here are the results of a spring 2014 clean-up effort at ŷϷ:
- Legally and illegally disposed of cigarette butts made up 30 percent of the daily weight of trash collected on campus.
- Tobacco-related items (including cigarette butts, lighters and packaging) constituted 83 percent of all litter items.