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Tobacco-free policy reduces combustible tobacco byproduct on a large university campus

Gelino, Brett W. and Salzer, Allyson R. and Harsin, Joshua D. and Naude, Gideon P. and Gilroy, Shawn P. and Reed, Derek D.

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Abstract:

Policy drives community‐level behavior change, so behavior analysts should aid empirical policy development. University campus regulation is a useful proxy for broader policy initiatives and thus is a convenient inroad for behavior analyst involvement. This paper examines behavior analytic contributions to the planning and evaluation of a university tobacco‐free initiative. We provided resources and guidance throughout early planning, and we then evaluated faculty and student compliance via byproduct (e.g., cigarette butts) counts taken at four high‐traffic sites (as flagged by preliminary surveying of campus faculty, staff, and students). Visual analysis and supplementary statistical testing support notions of (a) a meaningful and sustained reduction of combustible tobacco byproducts in all locations, and (b) a demonstrative example of behavior analytic involvement with university policy planning and evaluation.

Keywords:

behavior analysis
public health
public policy
tobacco
university policy

Citation:

Gelino, Brett W., Salzer, Allyson R., Harsin, Joshua D., Naude, Gideon P., Gilroy, Shawn P., Reed, Derek D. (2023). Tobacco-free policy reduces combustible tobacco byproduct on a large university campus. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 56(1). DOI: 10.1002/jaba.967.

Tobacco-free policy reduces combustible tobacco byproduct on a large university campus