New Report Examines Smoking Trends on Campuses

Fewer college students are smoking than ever--that's the good news. The bad news is that, according to the American Lung Association, the tobacco industry is out to change all that. The ALA has released a new study called Big Tobacco on Campus: Ending the Addiction that reports on smoking trends on college campuses.

Smoking rates were nearly this low 20 years ago, says the report, but they increased dramatically in ensuing years to the point where they reached a new high of 30.6 percent. A big part of that reversal can be attributed to efforts of the tobacco industry to ingratiate itself with college students. ALA says that in 2005, the tobacco industry spent more than $1 million a day sponsoring events and giveaways targeting college students. The report also notes that of 119 schools surveyed in one study, students at 109 schools reported seeing tobacco promotions in an event on campus.

The fact that the tobacco industry actively targets young adults is reflected in the Legacy Tobacco Documents Library, a collection of documents created by major tobacco companies related to their advertising, manufacturing, marketing, sales, and scientific research activities, housed at the University of California-San Francisco.

One document, "The Importance of Younger adults," published by R.J Reynolds, explicitly targets 18 year-olds as "the only source of replacement smokers." It says:

More than a share point of "new" 18-year-olds enter the market every year. These value offer a significant growth opportunity and also shrink the share of smokers already in the market.

The American Lung Association urges university leaders to stand up against Big Tobacco and  join the Smokefree Air 2010 Challenge, a nationwide movement to eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke in public places and workplaces no later than 2010 and reduce smoking-related illnesses.