Tobacco and Other Drugs

Tobacco and Other Drugs in College
Is Your Student Smoking??

photo of girl smoking

College life can be a stressful transition for students and the use of tobacco and other inhalants or substances can be used as easy coping mechanisms. Some college students may use tobacco, hookahs, vaping/e-cigarettes, and marijuana to cope with stress.

A popular trend among college-aged students is vaping. Vaping is an electronic cigarette or similar device used to inhale and exhale vapor1. They can be used with either tobacco or marijuana. Juuling is a type of trendy vaping device that resembles a flash drive and can be charged in a laptop’s USB port.

Did You Know?

  • About 12% of students have used tobacco, and 30% have used marijuana in the last 30 days2
  • Vaping, Juuling, and e-cigarettes are becoming more popular among people aged 18-243 and are perceived to be safer and better than smoking cigarettes4.

What Does FSU Do?

            FSU is committed to a safe and healthy environment; hence, FSU has remained a tobacco-free campus since 2014. FSU offers many resources to quit and reduce the usage of tobacco-related products, inhalants, or substances through the College of Medicine and the University Health Services. FSU offers Quit Smoking Now (QSN) group cessation classes through the College of Medicine. This six-week program is for students with the desire to quit smoking and facilitates the cessation process with the help from Tobacco Treatment Specialists (TTS) and Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRT)5. University Health Services through the Center for Health Advocacy and Wellness (CHAW) provides a Smoking Cessation Program with the help of Smoking Cessation Coaches to assist in quitting as well. Students work one-on-one with coaches and use NRT therapies to target the psychological aspects of quitting6. Research shows that quitting before the age of 40 will reduce your student’s likelihood of dying from smoking-related diseases by 90%.

What Can You Do?

            Many students are often misinformed on the risks of these products while in college. For example, although hookah usage is increasing in FSU students, smoking hookah is not safer than cigarettes because one typical hookah session is equivalent to smoking about 100 cigarettes in terms of nicotine and smoke intake2. In addition, the use of vaping and marijuana can negatively impact brain functioning leading to decreased concentration and memory7.

Making sure that your student has all the facts about tobacco and other substances is very important! Below are some websites that can be useful for informing your student about the risk of smoking.

Tobacco: https://www.affordablecollegesonline.org/college-resource-center/tobacco-free-college-campus/

Vaping: https://www.collegiateparent.com/starting-college/student/the-dangers-of-vaping/

  1. Merriam-Webster Dictionary
  2. https://chaw.fsu.edu/sites/g/files/upcbnu1671/files/docs/healthdata.pdf
  3. Teens Are 'Juuling' At School. Here's What That Means. Time Health.
  4. Trumbo and Harper. Use and Perception of Electronic Cigarettes Among College Students. J Am Coll Health. 2013 Apr; 61(3): 149–155
  5. https://www.med.fsu.edu/ahec/quit-smoking-now
  6. https://chaw.fsu.edu/topics/tobacco-and-other-drugs/quit-tobacco
  7. https://deserthopetreatment.com/drug-abuse/administration-methods/inhaled/