Tobacco-Free UK: A Healthy Place to Live, Work and Learn

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LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 19, 2009) The University of Kentucky today enacts a campuswide tobacco-free policy, taking a leading role in creating a healthier Kentucky. This policy's implementation coincides with the American Cancer Society's 34th Great American Smokeout.

As the state's flagship university, UK believes in a healthy environment for all members of the campus community. The tobacco-free policy places a priority on employees, guests and students by providing a healthy, tobacco-free environment and decreasing exposure to secondhand smoke.

This policy covers all university-controlled streets and sidewalks. For those sidewalks adjacent to streets not controlled by the university, UK asks that individuals respect the pedestrians and their efforts to provide a healthier environment by refraining from tobacco use on those sidewalks. The map with UK's tobacco-free boundaries can be found at: www.uky.edu/TobaccoFree.

With a great investment in its employees, guests and students, UK offers many resources for those interested in quitting tobacco use. Among these resources are nicotine replacement products, including patches and/or gum, at no cost to those students, faculty and staff (and their spouses or sponsored dependents) who are enrolled and actively participate in one of the many UK-sponsored tobacco treatment programs.

For others who need help managing symptoms, products such as nicotine replacement gum or patches are available at a deeply discounted rate at specific locations on UK's campus.

"UK offers many different types of tobacco treatment resources to meet the needs of members in the UK community," said Ellen Hahn, UK College of Nursing professor and Tobacco-Free Campus Initiative co-chair. "Most UK students, staff and faculty are already tobacco free and many others want to quit. We need to make sure they have all the help they need, especially considering the risk -- tobacco use remains the single most preventable cause of disease and premature death in the United States."

UK joins more than 300 other United States colleges and universities with tobacco-free or smoke-free policies in place for the entire campus, both indoors and outdoors. For additional information about UK's tobacco-free campus and a full list of tobacco treatment resources that UK offers visit www.uky.edu/TobaccoFree.