PASS-TSU Activities

Nov. 12-15, 2008 Seven PASS-TSU students participated in the annual American School Health Association national conference in Tampa, FL. They presented the studies "The economic impact of a smoke-free ordinance in a small, rural city: A preliminary report" and "Cold Turkey tobacco smoking cessation program for university faculty/staff/students." The students also attended and served as student monitors at all of the tobacco prevention, cessation, and control sessions and workshops given by experts in the field.

Oct. 23-25, 2008 PASS-TSU participated at the Society for Public Health Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA. Students attended all of the tobacco prevention, cessation, and control sessions and workshops given by experts in the field.

March 17, 2008 PASS-TSU students held their 2008 KISS ME campaign. They gave away KISS ME T-shirts for St. Patrick's Day, collected signatures of supporters of a smoke-free campus and distributed educational materials for those interested in quitting. PASS students also collected feedback about the smoke-free city ordinance to hear what students thought of the new policy. Many students shared their appreciation of dining out and going to the bars and not coming home smelling like smoke.

February - April, 2008 PASS-TSU students were working hard to educate potential Kirksville city council candidates and student advocates in the TSU Student Senate about the benefits of the city-wide smoke-free ordinance. The three open council seats created quite a stir as several candidates used a platform of removing the ordinance or creating exemptions because the ordinance was allegedly hurting business. PASS-TSU met with student groups on campus to encourage students to vote for pro-health candidates. In the end, students from TSU and the policy supporters in the community got out to vote and elected three candidates in support of a healthy community and keeping the smoke-free ordinance intact.

February - March, 2008 PASS-TSU offered another round of Cold Turkey cessation classes. The class met once a week and was taught by the peer educators. Participants received vouchers for patches from a local pharmacy after successfully completing each class. They also had the opportunity to create individualized quit dates and plans and speak to a physician. About 20 people attended the class with more asking to join near the end. PASS-TSU students plan to offer this class again in the fall during October-November in conjunction with the 2008 Great American Smokeout.

Nov. 7, 14, 28, Dec. 5, 2007 PASS-TSU conducted a free tobacco cessation program on the TSU campus in Kirksville. They held a 5-week peer-taught cessation program and gave away free nicotine replacement patches and gum to participants. All TSU students, faculty and staff were eligible to participate. The local pharmacy Rider Drug and volunteering physicians joined the effort to provide participants with personalized cessation consultations and other help. The Student Health Center and the Counseling Center offered private services upon request. Seven people participated and all were successful in quitting. Erin Black, the health promotion specialist for Kirksville, had this to say about the event: "This is the first successful smoking resource on Truman's campus as it has been suggested before but not actually followed through with. We hope to bring the cessation program back to the campus in February and March 2008 and incorporate it in our KISS Me Campaign."

April 3, 2007 Election Day in Kirksville! Residents had the opportunity to vote for a smoke-free policy in all public places. PASS-TSU were encouraging students on the TSU campus to vote and providing educational materials. The Breathe Easy coalition was monitoring the polls and getting out the vote from the hospital, workplaces, and medical school. At the end of the day, the smoking ordinance won the support of voters.

March 30, 2007 Crunch time for the PASS-TSU and Breathe Easy groups as they tried to compile a list of core supporters to be reached on Election Day and to make last minute calls, canvass the community, and plan the events of April 3.

March 27, 2007 TSU's Student Senate hosted another Candidate's Forum on campus. PASS handed out materials on the quad about the election, ordinance, and the pro-health candidates.

March 24, 2007 The annual Spring Expo took place in Kirksville. Breathe Easy members sponsored a booth for education, cessation help and general smoke-free policy questions. This all-day event allowed the group to inform local business owners and to get exposed to a 2,000-plus audience.

March 22, 2007 The Kirksville City Chamber of Commerce organized the Candidate's Forum where Breathe Easy was asked to host a booth in favor of the proposed smoking ordinance. Several Breathe Easy and PASS-TSU members handed out educational information, answered questions and gave support for the pro-health candidates.

March 20, 2007 Smokebusters at the Kirksville Middle School hosted cancer survivor Don Young for a motivational talk. At the event, Breathe Easy passed out educational materials about smoking and the smoking ordinance on the ballot.

March 19, 2007 Breathe Easy and PASS-TSU were present for the ATSU smoke-free campus ceremony. Coalition members worked with a newly formed ATSU version of Breathe Easy to educate the president of the university and successfully implement a campus-wide policy. The event received wide media coverage and community support.

March 17-16, 2007 PASS-TSU students gave away St. Pats KISS Me shirts, educational materials about the smoking ordinance on the ballot, city council, and smoking cessation on the TSU quad. Students were asked to wear the shirts on March 17 to local bars and restaurants to show support for the policy change.

March 14, 2007 Students and volunteers in Kirksville began making community-wide phone calls to reach supporting voters.

March 7-1, 2007 The final week for voter registration in Kirksville was under way. Breathe Easy and PASS-TSU registered about 175 new voters and updated addresses of about 50 additional students. The medical school turned out to be a great place to gain support as close to half of the newly-registered voters come from there.