College smoking policies and smoking cessation programs: results of a survey of college health center directors

College students' cigarette smoking rose dramatically during the 1990s. Little is known about what colleges do to address the problem. Health center directors at 393 4-year US colleges provided information (response rate: 65.1%) about college policies addressing smoking and the availability of smoking cessations programs. Of the health center directors surveyed, 85% considered students' smoking a problem; yet only 81% of colleges prohibit smoking in all public areas and only 27% ban smoking in all indoor areas, including students' rooms in dormitories and in private offices. More than 40% of the respondents reported that their schools did not offer smoking cessation programs and that the demand for existing program was low. Colleges need to do more to discourage student tobacco use. Recommended actions include campus-wide no-smoking policies that apply to student residences and identification of new ways of providing smoking prevention and cessation services.