“We think it is important to keep the smoke-free policy visible” said Sahana Prabhudeva, president of SHAC. “This is a fun event which allows students to show their support for a smoke-free campus

The UCF Smoke-Free policy, which went into effect August of 2012, bans smoking of any kind on campus. Since UCF went smoke-free, Valencia College, Florida State University and Seminole State College have also joined the more than with smoke-free, or tobacco-free, policies in place. When UCF made the change, all out-door cigarette butt receptacles on campus were removed. Mary Schmidt-Owens, co-chair for UCF Smoke-free Committee, said that keeping the receptacles would have sent conflicting messages, so it was decided to remove all receptacles on campus.

Schmidt-Owens continues to monitor the campus climate by administering the ACHA-NCHA II (American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment) which collects data about the UCF students’ habits, behaviors, and perceptions on the most prevalent health topics, cigarette use included.

Over the past five years (2011-2015) students who report any use of cigarette use in the past 30 days has gone from 10.7% (2011) to 4.5% (2015) and students reporting daily use went from 3.6% (2011) to 1.7% (2015).  “It is encouraging to see these numbers continue to drop among our student population” said Schmidt-Owens.

Student Health Services continues to offer smoking cessation support to all students, faculty and staff who are interested in quitting.  The smoke free campaign materials are also available to place in departments and buildings throughout campus.

“The continued success of this campuswide initiative takes the help and support of everyone here at UCF” said Schmidt-Owens. For more information regarding smoking cessation classes or smoke free campaign materials, contact: mary.schmidt-owens@ucf.edu.

“We think it is important to keep the smoke-free policy visible” said Samantha Spiers, president of SHAC. “This is a fun event that allows students to show their support for a smoke-free campus.”

The four students collecting the most cigarette trash will be awarded $50 gift cards to Barnes and Noble. To participate, students should check-in at the smoke-free tent on the Student Union patio between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. that day to pick up their supplies. Students return their collected trash to the tent where it is recorded by volume and then disposed of by Environmental Health and Safety. All participants will be given UCF smoke-free T-shirts, and the four winners will be notified the next day for prize pick up.

The smoke-free policy, which went into effect August 2012, bans smoking of any kind on campus. Since UCF went smoke-free, Valencia College, Florida State University and Seminole State College have also joined the more than 1,514 universities and colleges in the nation with smoke-free, or tobacco-free, policies in place. When UCF made the change, all out-door cigarette butt receptacles on campus were removed. Mary Schmidt-Owens, co-chair of the UCF Smoke-free Committee, said that keeping the receptacles would have sent conflicting messages, so it was decided to remove all receptacles on campus.

“We have stayed in close contact with the staff members at Environmental Health and Safety, and they report that cigarette trash is down from what it was pre-policy implementation,” said Schmidt-Owens. “The Health Center continues to offer smoking cessation support to all students, faculty and staff who are interested in quitting. New classes are starting all the time.”

For more information, call 407.823.2701 or visit: .

“We think it is important to keep the smoke-free policy visible,” said Samantha Spiers, president of the Student Health Advisory Committee, which is hosting the event for the third time. “This is a fun event that allows students to show their support for a smoke-free campus.”

The four students who collect the most cigarette trash will be awarded $50 gift cards to Barnes & Noble.

To participate, students should check-in at the smoke-free tent on the Student Union patio between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to pick up their supplies. Students return their collected trash to the tent so it can be measured for volume and then disposed of by Environmental Health and Safety. All participants will be given UCF smoke-free T-shirts, and the four winners will be notified the next day for prize pickup.

The UCF smoke-free policy went into effect in 2012. Since UCF went smoke-free, Valencia College, Florida State University and Seminole State College have also joined the more than 1,500 universities and colleges in the nation with smoke-free or tobacco-free, policies in place. When UCF made the change, all outdoor cigarette-butt receptacles on campus were removed. Mary Schmidt-Owens, assistant director of UCF’s Medical and Health Administration, said that keeping the receptacles would have sent conflicting messages, so it was decided to remove all receptacles on campus.

Schmidt-Owens, co-chair of the UCF smoke-free committee, said the campus Environmental Health and Safety staff reports that cigarette trash is down from before the policy went into effect. She said the health center continues to offer smoking-cessation support to all students, faculty and staff who are interested in quitting. To register, contact the center at 407-823-2701 or www.hs.ucf.edu.

But now that the Ů��AV is going smoke-free, so is the 42-year-old campus employee. With UCF’s help, Nayfeh is kicking the habit he started at 19.

“My kids are happy for me, too,” said Nayfeh, who works in lab support and property control for the Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science.

Ů��AV is joining hundreds of colleges and universities around the nation that have a tobacco and/or smoke-free policy in place. The new initiative begins the first day of the fall semester – Monday, Aug. 20 – and applies to employees, students, visitors, vendors and others while on UCF-owned or leased properties, including university vehicles.

The initiative was put into motion last year by President John C. Hitt to encourage healthy lifestyles and change the university community’s behavior so that everyone’s right to clean air is respected. (The /smokefree website has FAQs, information about smoking-cessation classes, a schedule of workshops to learn about the policy, and how to submit a question about the policy.)

Another campus employee, Molly McCarter, said she was motivated to stop her 20-year smoking habit because she started running for exercise last year and now is training for a marathon.

“It certainly is easier to run when you don’t smoke,” said McCarter, production manager and coordinator of stage management for Theatre UCF. “Who knew? Everybody knows! Everyone who picks up a cigarette knows what it does to them.”

Nayfeh and McCarter said they have tried to quit numerous times through the years, but this time they vowed to succeed in advance of the university’s policy.

“I tried several times to stop, but they were short – days, even hours,” said Nayfeh, who recently attended a smoking-cessation class on campus that offered tips, motivational advice and support from fellow classmates.

“This time it was really different. I was lucky to have all the support from the class, and I took it more as a challenge this time. I figured that if I took just one cigarette, like I used to, I’d go back.”

McCarter said nicotine-replacement patches were certainly helpful, but her biggest trick to stop smoking was exercise.

“Every time I wanted a cigarette I’d go into the bathroom and do about 20 jumping jacks,” she said.

UCF Health Services officials have boosted support for the campaign by getting endorsements from groups around campus, such as the Faculty Senate, USPS Staff Council, Student Government Association, HR Liaison Network, Greek Council, Fraternity and Sorority Life, and others.

Mary Schmidt-Owens, co-chair of the campaign steering committee and UCF’s assistant director of Medical and Health Administration, said UCF joins more than 700 other colleges and universities with similar policies.

“I am hopeful that as the result of the policy there will be fewer students picking up the habit,” Schmidt-Owens said. “What begins as an occasional social behavior quickly becomes a daily habit, often resulting in an addiction to cigarette smoking. I see this policy as the first step in discouraging a lifelong habit.”

The university hopes that employees and students become ambassadors of the campaign and model healthy behaviors for others to follow. Anyone aware of someone smoking on the campus is encouraged to politely explain the policy and ask the smoker to comply.

Efforts will focus on increasing the awareness of the policy instead of fining or punishing smokers. The policy will be reviewed after a year just like other new policies that are put into place, Schmidt-Owens said.

The university has been providing cessation services and resources – including individual and group classes, support groups, counseling, self-help materials and medications – to employees and students who want to quit. For a list of upcoming classes, check the website.

JeVeire Moore, a Health Services pharmacist, said free nicotine-replacement therapy is available for those in the smoking-cessation program, and nicotine-replacement patches, gum and lozenges can be purchased by anyone at the UCF Health Center.

Nayfeh and McCarter encourage others to take the class to improve their own health.

“When smokers wake up, they have a horrible taste in their mouths. But they get used to it,” Nayfeh said. “They should quit for their health, for their looks, their smell. Everything has changed for me. For the people who still smoke, I wish them a better life without it.”

The Orange County Health Department named Owens a “Public Health HERO” today as part of its celebration of National Public Health Week.

Owens, co-chair of the UCF Smoke-Free Steering Committee, was honored for her commitment in transforming ��AV into a smoke-free campus.

The smoke-free policy will is scheduled to go into effect this fall.

For information about the campaign, go to .