The Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation will host the University and College Tobacco-Free Campus Collaborative on Tuesday, August 20, 2019. The Foundation has invited top levels of leadership from Mississippi’s publicly-funded universities and community colleges to engage with prestigious healthcare and education experts about improving the health and well-being of students and personnel by adopting enforceable smoke-free and tobacco-free policies.
“The Foundation’s overarching vision includes support of Mississippi’s universities and colleges as community stakeholders in their efforts to create sustainable healthy campus cultures,” said Sheila Grogan, Foundation President. “The goal of the Collaborative is to explore opportunities to implement, enhance and enforce tobacco and electronic smoking device control actions on all university and college properties with support through Foundation grant funds.”
Keynote addresses at the Collaborative will be made by Dr. Thomas E. Dobbs, Mississippi State Health Officer; Dr. J. Clay Hays, Jr., a Jackson cardiologist who serves as the Governor’s Appointee to the Mississippi Tobacco Control Advisory Council; Jennifer Cofer, director of the EndTobacco program at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; and Dr. Robert McMillen, professor and principal investigator for tobacco data and research at the Mississippi State University Social Science Research Center. Dr. Alfred Rankins, Mississippi Commissioner of Higher Education, and Dr. Andrea Mayfield, Mississippi Community College Board Executive Director, will also make remarks in support of universities and colleges adopting new policies.
More than $16 million in grant funds have been awarded to universities and colleges across the state to implement the Foundation’s University and College Health and Wellness Model. Great strides have been made in creating a culture of health on campuses and in communities. One of the objectives of the Model includes taking steps toward becoming a tobacco-free campus. A majority of Mississippi universities and colleges have adopted comprehensive smoke-free and tobacco-free policies; however, the recent rise of electronic nicotine delivery system usage creates an opportunity to adopt new policies or enhance existing policies.
“University and college campuses are ideal for promoting smoke-free and tobacco-free lifestyles to the benefit of everyone’s health, from students to personnel to visitors,” said Dr. Thomas C. Fenter, Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation. “The Collaborative is a call to action for campus leaders to increase physical health and quality of life by taking steps to adopt policies, implement strategies and educate the campus community about the dangers of tobacco and nicotine delivery system products.”
The Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation has a vision for a healthy Mississippi and provides targeted grants to fund initiatives and programs to improve the health of Mississippians. To learn more about the Foundation, visit www.healthiermississippi.org.