title: The effect of a smoke-free campus policy on college students' smoking behaviors and attitudes.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the impact of a smoke-free campus policy on college students' smoking behaviors and attitudes.
  
  
  METHODS
  The current study utilized repeated cross-sectional surveys with a nested 4-wave longitudinal cohort design. Data were collected from undergraduate students at two large matched public universities in Indiana before and after one of the campuses went smoke-free in January 2008. Baseline data were collected in fall 2007 (n=3266) and follow-up data were collected in fall 2009 (n=3207). In addition, volunteers provided longitudinal follow-up data at four different time points.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the cross-sectional analyses, students exposed to the smoke-free campus policy demonstrated significant favorable changes in smoking behavior (16.5% to 12.8%, p<0.001), perceptions of peer tobacco use (73.6% to 66.8%, p<0.001), and smoking norms (45.5% to 40.4%, p<0.001) compared to students on the control campus. In the longitudinal analyses, students exposed to the smoke-free campus policy demonstrated these changes plus significant favorable changes in attitudes toward regulation of tobacco (83.2% to 89.9%, p<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The implementation of a smoke-free campus policy may be an effective intervention for reducing tobacco use among college students.
authors.affiliation: Department of Applied Health Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA. seo@indiana.edu
authors.forename: Dong-Chul
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Jonathan T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Macy
authors.forename: Mohammad R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Torabi
authors.forename: Susan E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Middlestadt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007196:Indiana; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D057766:Policy; D015995:Prevalence; D012907:Smoking / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D013334:Students; D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution; D014495:Universities; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D014028:Tobacco Smoke Pollution