Smoke-Free Spaces Initiative: Summer 2019 Highlights

In an effort to help increase smoke-free spaces and protect Philadelphians from secondhand smoke exposure, PDPH provided free technical assistance on smoke-free policy development and implementation for partners in academia and subsidized multiunit housing.  

Tobacco-Free Campus:

Temple University, one of our key partners in smoke-free campus initiative, reached a major milestone, implementing a comprehensive tobacco-free policy on July 1, 2019.  A Presidential Smoke-free Taskforce, consisted of an interdisciplinary group of faculty, students and staff conducted extensive data collection and review and made a recommendation for the policy.  Temple University’s groundbreaking policy prohibits the use, sale and promotion of all tobacco-derived and tobacco-containing products, including but not limited to; cigarettes, oral tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, hookah-smoked products, pipes, and nicotine delivery devices.    https://www.temple.edu/life-at-temple/tobacco-free-temple.  Furthermore, Temple University’s policy prohibits tobacco-related advertisement and the University will work with vendors and tenants to prevent the sale of tobacco or tobacco paraphernalia on campus grounds.  Temple University has listed both internal and external resources for smoking cessation.  Over the years, PDPH has supported Temple University’s efforts to create a healthier and safer learning environment by engaging key stakeholders within the institution, identifying external resources, linking the institution to local and national peer organizations, providing input on policy, conducting presentations for students and staff, etc.

Smoke-Free Multiunit Housing:

In our effort to promote clean indoor air in multiunit dwellings, we worked in partnership with three large subsidized housing providers.  Services provided by PDPH include; training for property managers, service coordinators and building staff, engaging tenant leadership, sharing sample policy and communication documents, conducting presentations for residents, and linking smokers to quit resources.  We also provided mini-grants to cover expenses for staff time, resident meetings, signs, and educational materials.  Through successful partnerships, during the months of June and July 2019, all three property management companies implemented smoke-free policies for their respective buildings, covering 1,032 housing units in total.  

 

For additional information on FREE technical assistance, visit our website at http://smokefreephilly.org/smoke-free-communities/

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