#UKKickButtsDay Exposes Devastation of Tobacco Use in Kentucky
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 16, 2015) — Creating a healthier campus environment, the University of Kentucky adopted its tobacco-free campus policy in 2009. On Thursday, April 16, the UK Tobacco-free Task Force will remind the campus community of deaths caused by tobacco — and that there's help to quit available — by sponsoring #UKKicksButtsDay.
Located on the Student Center Patio from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the annual event educates students, faculty and staff about the university's tobacco-free policy and the health hazards of tobacco use. Health educators will host trivia games with prizes and a free t-shirt giveaway for students. In addition, participants can view a white sheet marked with hand prints representing the 8,900 lives lost due to tobacco use in Kentucky every year.
In 2013, 19 percent of UK students reported using some form of tobacco products, down from 30 percent before the policy took effect in 2009. The Tobacco-free Task Force works to help members of the campus community quit smoking and ensure compliance with the tobacco-free policy. In November 2009, UK joined 300 universities across the nation in prohibiting tobacco use on campus inside and out. Currently, UK is one of more than 1,000 campuses with tobacco-free campus policies. The Tobacco-free Policy prohibits the use of all tobacco products including traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes, chew, pipes, cigars, hookah or waterpipe smoking, snus, snuff, and applies to all areas of the contiguous UK campus in Lexington, indoors and out.
"While UK officially made our campus a healthier place to live, work and learn nearly six years ago, our Tobacco-free Task Force isn't finished spreading the word about the health risks of tobacco use," Ellen Hahn, Ph.D, RN, co-chair of UK’s Tobacco-free Task Force, said. "This event is a continuation of a larger effort to reduce tobacco-related deaths and disease on campus and in our community."
#UKKickButtsDay is sponsored by University Health Service, UK College of Pharmacy and the UK Advisory Council. Spread the word through social media using the hashtag #UKKickButtsDay.
MEDIA CONTACT: Elizabeth Adams, elizabethadams@uky.edu