Tobacco-Free

Texas Christian University is committed to supporting its employees and students who want to quit using tobacco products by offering tobacco cessation programs at no cost. The American Cancer Society provides a timeline of health milestones individuals can look forward to once they’ve quit.

• Time Smoke-free: 1 hour
  Benefits: Heart rate and blood pressure drop
• Time Smoke-free: 12 hours
  Benefits: The carbon monoxide level in your blood drops to normal
• Time Smoke-free: 2 weeks to 3 months
  Benefits: Circulation improves and lung function increases
• Time Smoke-free: 1 to 9 months
  Benefits: Coughing and shortness of breath decrease; cilia (tiny hair-like structures that move mucus out of the lungs) start to regain normal function, reducing the risk of infection
• Time Smoke-free: 1 year
  Benefits: Excess risk of coronary heart disease is half that of a habitual smoker

TCU Students

Substance Use & Recovery Services

Individual and group tobacco cessation coaching is available through the TCU Substance Use & Recovery Services (SURS). Students may call the SURS office at 817-257-7100 for information regarding tobacco cessation.

Student Health Center

To make an appointment at the health center, call 817-257-7940

TCU Pharmacy

Tobacco replacement products are also available through the TCU pharmacy with physician authorization. Please call 817-257-7940 for information about replacement products.

Counseling & Mental Health Center

First appointments at the Counseling & Mental Health Center are 30-minute drop-in sessions. Students can drop-in from 9:00am – 11:30am and 1:00m – 3:30pm Monday through Friday. Students should tell the front office that they are here for a first appointment when they arrive. If a student cannot make these times, please call the front office at 817-257-7863.

TCU Employees

Health coaching and support are available through the Employee Assistance Program at no cost to employees. The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) is available to assist employees with identifying successful quit strategies, contact 1-800-327-1393 to start the conversation. Employees on Blue Cross Blue Shield have additional resources available to them, please contact 1-888-762-2190 for more information.

Apps and Online Quit Programs

Freedom from Smoking Online Program

An evidenced-based online program from the American Lung Association consists of eight self-paced modules, each containing four lessons, and an interactive message board to assist you in quitting tobacco.

Become an EX

The EX plan teaches you how to live life without cigarettes in 3 steps –all geared to help make the seemingly impossible possible.

Quit Tobacco-Make Everyone Proud

An online program from the Department of Defense for US military service members and Veterans.

Kill the Can

This website offers free resources and tools to help dip, snuff, and chewing tobacco users quit. Along with useful information, it offers a support forum and a live quit chat room.

MedlinePlus

Check out more Tobacco Cessation References.

Cigarettes

• Smoking kills half of those who don’t quit.
• Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death.
• Smokers are exposed to a toxic mix of over 7,000 chemicals when they inhale cigarette smoke.
• Not all of the harmful chemicals created during cigarette manufacturing are man-made. Some of the carcinogens occur naturally as tobacco is cured.
• The harmful chemicals in cigarette smoke can damage nearly every organ in the body.
• The tobacco industry spends billions of dollars each year on marketing cigarettes.
• Smoking costs the United States billions of dollars each year.
• Nonsmokers are exposed to many of these same chemicals through secondhand smoke.
• According to the National Cancer Institute, the average cost of a pack of cigarettes is $6.36. Let’s say someone smoked 30 cigarettes in one day. In a month, that’s $191. In a year, that’s $2,300. In 10 years, that’s $23,000.
  • Calculate how much could save by going smoke free: https://www.smokefree.org.nz/smoking-its-effects/cost-of-smoking/cost-of-smoking-calculator

Cigars

• Cigars are not a safe alternative to cigarettes and cigar smoke is at least as toxic as cigarette smoke, if not more.
• Large cigars can deliver as much as 10 times the nicotine, two times the tar, and more than five times the carbon monoxide of a filtered cigarette.
• Regular cigar smoking is associated with an increased risk for cancers of the lung, esophagus, larynx (voice box), and oral cavity (lip, tongue, mouth, throat), gum disease and tooth loss.
• Heavy cigar smokers and those who inhale deeply may be at increased risk for developing coronary heart disease, and lung diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis.

Smokeless Tobacco

• Smokeless tobacco is common as dip, chew, Snuff, SNUS.
• Although you don’t inhale smokeless tobacco, there are still more than 4,000 chemicals in these products, and as many as 30 of these have been linked to cancer.
• Each year in the U.S., more than 2,300 people are diagnosed with oral, esophageal, and pancreatic cancers caused by smokeless tobacco use.
• Smokeless tobacco use is responsible for gingivitis and periodontitis, tooth loss as a result of gum disease, cavities, and stained teeth.
• Using smokeless tobacco products may also increase the risk of heart disease and stroke.

E-cigarettes/Vapes

• E-cigarettes are devices that heat a liquid into an aerosol that the user inhales. The liquid usually has nicotine and flavoring in it and other additives.
• E-cigarette use poses a significant – and avoidable – health risk to young people in the United States.
• The outbreak of E-cigarette, or Vaping, product use-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) hospitalized over 2,800 and killed 68 last year.
  • EVALI is strongly linked to vitamin E acetate, an additive in some e-cigarettes and vaping products
  • Reduce risk by not using e-cigarettes and vaping products from informal sources like friends, family, or in-person or online dealers
• Besides nicotine, e-cigarettes can contain harmful and potentially harmful ingredients, including:
  • ultrafine particles that can be inhaled deep into the lungs
  • flavorants such as diacetyl, a chemical linked to serious lung disease
  • volatile organic compounds
  • heavy metals, such as nickel, tin, and lead
• On average, an electronic cigarette (a JUUL) costs $20 and pods for that JUUL cost $5. Let’s say someone spent $20 a week, that would be $84 per month and $1,008 per year.
• On average, a refillable e-cigarette costs $30. The average cost of e-juice is $30 per week. That would cost someone $126 per month and $1,512 per year.

Hookahs

• Hookah (water pipe) smoke exposes people to the addictive chemical nicotine and contains many of the same toxic chemicals that are in cigarette smoke.
• Waterpipe smokers may absorb even more of the harmful chemicals found in cigarette smoke because smoking sessions are typically longer. A typical one-hour hookah session involves inhaling 100–200 times the volume of smoke from a single cigarette.
• Waterpipe smokers are at risk for the same kind of diseases caused by cigarette smoking and may absorb even more toxic chemicals like carbon monoxide than cigarette smokers.

Nicotine During Pregnancy

• Nicotine exposure harms the developing fetus and causes lasting consequences for the developing brain and lung function in newborns.
• Nicotine exposure also affects maternal and fetal health during pregnancy and can result in low birth weights, preterm delivery, and stillbirth.

Long-term Financial Effects of Tobacco

• Higher health insurance costs: Tobacco users can face charges up to 50% more for health insurance than non-tobacco users.
• Tobacco cessation must be provided at no cost under most types of health insurance including counseling, prescription cessation, and/or over-the-counter nicotine replacements.
• Increased absenteeism at work: Across workers, full-day absenteeism (due to smoking-related health concerns) cost the employee an estimated $341 per complete missed workday. Partial-day absenteeism (due to recurring smoke breaks) cost an estimated $13 per workday, equaling almost $3,077 per year.
• Dental hygiene: In adults aged 18-64, current smokers have poorer oral health status, more oral health problems, and more need for a dental health professional. Costs of these appointments prevent 56% of current smokers with an oral health problem from seeing a dentist.
• Lower resale values of property: A home’s property resale value can go down by up to 29% if someone has smoked in it. Buyers can detect smells and signs up smoking, as pollutants remain up to two months after a home has been cleaned and vented.

Adapted from:

• FDA.gov/tobacco-products
• CDC.gov/tobacco
• SurgeonGeneral.gov
• Lung.org/quit-smoking
• cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/tobacco-and-cancer

Wellness is the lifelong pursuit of developing personal values and building awareness of balanced choices to impact healthy behaviors- this allows an individual to see the best version of themselves that enhances the community in which they live.

In order to encourage a culture of health and wellness for all students, faculty, staff, and guests of the university, Texas Christian University prohibits the use of all tobacco products and smoking on property owned by the university.  It is up to EVERYONE to help spread awareness and make this policy successful.

If you encounter someone using tobacco on campus, you might find one of these toolkits helpful in approaching them and opening a conversation about the TCU tobacco policy and the benefits of cessation. All you have to remember are your A, B, C’s…

Communication Toolkit

• A – Assume the person is not aware of the policy
• B – Be polite and friendly
• C – Cessation! If the individual is open to talking about cessation, provide them with resources.

Below are some examples of ways you can interact with someone whom you see violating the tobacco-free policy.

Be Respectful.
Listen and have empathy for the student’s situation.

“Quitting tobacco can be challenging. If you’re interested in our campus resources for tobacco cessation, here are a variety of in-person or on-line cessation resources.”

Be Direct.
Explain the reason behind the policy. Make a clear statement that this is an important policy to the university and it is an expectation that everyone adheres to this policy.

“The Tobacco-free Campus policy is part of the university’s commitment to creating a healthy and sustainable environment for all members of our campus community. It takes us all of us participating to make our community healthier.”

Offer Options.
Provide cessation resource options.

“To help you manage cravings while on campus, the TCU Pharmacy offers different products for nicotine replacement, they would be happy to get you connected to products that would be helpful to you!”

“You might consider taking advantage of tobacco cessation coaching offered through the Alcohol and Drug Education office, it is a great resource available to you on campus.”

Corrective Action.
All students are expected to adhere to campus policy. Enforcement will be through education and awareness. Should you see someone using tobacco on University property, please respectfully remind them that TCU is tobacco-free and that tobacco products are prohibited on campus grounds.

“I don’t know if you are aware, but TCU has a Tobacco-free Campus policy. Could you please put away your tobacco.”

Explain.
If a person asks where they may use tobacco products, explain that the use of tobacco products are prohibited on university property including inside buildings and on university grounds. If they feel they need to use tobacco products, they will need to leave campus property.

“The Tobacco-free Campus policy bans tobacco use here on campus. You are free to use off-campus, but if you would like to know about some of the benefits of cessation you can stop by the Wellness Education Office located in the Rec Center.”

What are considered smoking products?
Cigars, cigarettes, chewing tobacco, snuff, e-cigarettes/vapes, and hookahs, are considered smoking and tobacco products for purposes of this policy and are prohibited on all university-owned or -leased property or vehicles. Nicotine gum, patches, and similar cessation products are NOT considered tobacco products and are thus permitted.

Are there exceptions to the policy?
People wishing to use tobacco as part of an established religious or cultural ceremony, artistic performance in a University-sponsored event or for educational/clinical purposes, may contact the vice chancellor for Student Affairs to request an exemption for these activities.

What are the boundaries of the university for the purposes of defining university property?
The boundaries include any property owned or leased by TCU. The tobacco-free policy does not apply to city streets or sidewalks that are not adjoining university property. Please reference the campus map located on the main page to best understand what is considered TCU property.

Does the policy apply to visitors to campus?
Yes. Organizers and attendees at public events, such as conferences, meetings, public lectures, social events, cultural events, campus visits, admissions events or tours and sporting events using University facilities are required to abide by the tobacco-free policy. Event planners are responsible for communicating the policy to attendees.

Does the policy apply to University-sanctioned events or sporting activities occurring off-campus?
No. TCU’s policy applies only to University-owned or -leased property or vehicles. Events or activities scheduled elsewhere are bound by the policies or rules of the event coordinator or property manager.

Does TCU offer cessation programs?
Yes. For current TCU students, individual and group tobacco cessation coaching is available through the TCU Substance Use & Recovery Services office. Tobacco replacement products are available through the TCU pharmacy with physician authorization. Please reference our Cessation Resources page for full details regarding resources to quit for students, staff, and faculty.

For current TCU employees, health coaching and support is available through the Employee Assistance Program at no cost to employees. Additional resources are available through Blue Cross Blue Shield for employees on TCU’s health benefits plan. Additionally, programs offered by the TCU Wellness Center and through Frog Life are open to all employees.

How does TCU enforce the policy?
The expectation is there will be voluntary compliance with the policy. It is the shared responsibility of all members of the campus to respect and abide by this policy.