Grand Valley State University is one of the only public colleges in Michigan that is not tobacco or smoke-free. The American Cancer Society of GVSU is an organization proposing we take a step in the right direction by eliminating tobacco use on campus. Smoking is the single largest preventable cause of death or illnesses in the world, and we of ACS at GVSU want to fight back and lower that number. By banning the use of tobacco and smoking devices on campus, this will hopefully limit the overall use of tobacco and smoking devices for individuals attending campus.

While it may not completely eliminate this problem, it will be a start to decreasing overall smoking, and hopefully save lives in doing so. Another reason that eliminating smoking on campus will help in our efforts is cutting down on second hand smoke exposure. Exposure to secondhand smoke causes approximately 7,330 lung cancer deaths among non smokers every year. So as harmless as it may seem, smoking on campus may be harming many more students, faculty, and staff than the one person using the tobacco product.

Here at GVSU we have many available resources to help you or someone you know quit the use of tobacco. The AOD (Alcohol & Other Drug Services) here at GVSU is committed to educating students to make healthy decisions and improving the well-being of our community. Their three main services are prevention & education, intervention, and recovery.

The American Cancer Society has many resources to help you or someone you know quit the use of tobacco. A simple google search of the American Cancer Society brings you a large variety of resources, tips, hotlines, and research to help those you care about quit. 

Creating a tobacco free campus is one way to make our community a safer and healthier environment to work and study.