MUSC Preparing to go Tobacco-Free

I am Susan Johnson from MUSC in Charleston, SC and I am honored to be the first guest blogger for 2012. I am excited to share our progress in creating a tobacco-free campus as we are quickly approaching our implementation date of March 1, 2012. I would like to start by saying that without the support of the Working Well team at the South Carolina Hospital Association, and NC Prevention Partners and WorkHealthy America resources, I’m certain we would not be nearly as far along and as prepared to make this monumental cultural change at MUSC.

MUSC is South Carolina’s academic health center and home to the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer institute in the state. Creating a tobacco-free campus supports our mission to prevent cancer and lead by example in providing the healthiest environment possible for everyone on our campus. This seems obvious and many wonder why it has taken us so long to take this step. This is not easily explained and something we are still dealing with, but the simple answer is legislation exists in South Carolina that has made it difficult for us to make this change due to the fact that we are a state organization. However, our students, employees and president believed in the importance of this policy and were able to convince the board of trustees to pass a resolution that allowed us to move forward with our efforts.

Fast forward four months and we are finalizing our plans and preparing to become a tobacco-free campus. Our appointed committee consists of representatives from:
•administration
• human resources
• security
• faculty
• public relations
• student affairs
• student government; and
• employee wellness.

We also made sure we had a smoker on our committee and her opinions and suggestions have been invaluable in this process. We have worked tirelessly on tasks such as:
•policy development
• communication
•signage
•public relations
• education
•cessation
• enforcement.

We developed a dedicated policy website and introduced the MUSC community to the upcoming policy through a front page article in our newspaper.  You can listen to a recent webinar where we discussed the steps we've taken to prepare for going tobacco-free.

In support of the upcoming implementation, we are now offering a new tobacco cessation program called MUSC Pitch the Pack, free of charge to students and employees, which rolled out on January 19 and will run through June, 2012. Other key tasks have included:
• Printing information tent cards and flyers that inform the MUSC community as well as the public about the upcoming policy;
• Ordering tobacco-free signs;
•Making arrangements for installation of tobacco-free signs throughout our campus (main and remote locations); and
•Arranging to have the “smoking huts” removed beginning February 29.

I would like to say we are planning a big celebration event to mark this momentous occasion, but given the status of current legislation regarding smokers’ rights, we have decided to postpone any public acknowledgment of our successes until later this year when we anticipate a change in state policy. Until then, we will quietly and proudly celebrate the clean air and healthy environment we have created through these efforts. I will admit that this has been a huge project and there have been some bumps in the road but I can’t think of a better use of our time and I feel very fortunate to have been a part of this significant event in our organization's history. I am happy to share more details and encourage everyone to do whatever it takes to create a tobacco-free environment for the health of your organization.