Camosun College and tobacco use
Ready to quit smoking?
Free Quit Kits available! Contact us for yours: turtf@camosun.bc.ca
Camosun’s Tobacco Use Reduction Task Force (affectionately referred to as the “TURTF”) is a sub-committee of the college’s Joint Occupational Safety & Health (JOSH) committee. Formed in the spring of 2009 to address the issues surrounding tobacco use at both Camosun campuses, the eight-member TURTF provides representation of the various groups within our college community.
In June 2009, Camosun College officially partnered with the BC Lung Association and the BC Healthy Living Alliance (BCHLA) as a part of the Tobacco-Free Post Secondary Initiative. This initiative supports universities and colleges to create healthier campus environments by reducing exposure to second-hand smoke through improving campus policies, educating the campus community, and increasing access to quit smoking resources.
With assistance from the BCHLA, TURTF has developed a Tobacco Reduction Strategy for the college which will be used to guide its tobacco reduction activities to the year 2013. This strategy focuses on three objectives:
- Prevention: To prevent students, faculty and staff from starting to smoke or use tobacco products.
- Protection: To protect students, faculty, staff and visitors from second-hand smoke while on campus grounds.
- Cessation: To promote and support quitting smoking among students, faculty and staff.
Useful online information and resources for quitting:
Funding to carry out the activities and initiatives that will help to realize these objectives was generously provided to Camosun through a grant from the BC Lung Association. Participation in last fall’s CamFest, Smoke Out ’09, and Camosun’s first Quit to Win Contest (see article below) are all activities that have been funded from this grant.
Over the summer months, members of the TURTF will be focusing on the ‘hot spots’ on each campus (places where second-hand smoke is an issue) and looking at the possible solutions to this ongoing problem. During the next academic year, we are looking forward to, again, being on-hand at CamFest, hosting Smoke Out ’10, and holding the second annual Quit to Win Contest to raise awareness of the health risks associated with second-hand smoke and to promote the importance of smoking cessation to the college community.
The TURTF welcomes any questions, comments or suggestions you may have with regard to tobacco use at the college. Please email all correspondence to: turtf@camosun.bc.ca.
Camosun’s Smoking and Tobacco Product policy
Contact us at TURTF@camosun.bc.ca
