TABLE 1—
Policy Impact on Tobacco Use and Perceptions of Policies Among Students at 8 Public 4-Year Colleges and Universities in California, 2013–2014
| Variable | Tobacco-Free, % (No.) | Smoke-Free, % (No.) | Designated Outdoor Areas, % (No.) | California Law Only, % (No.) | P |
| Demographic variables | |||||
| Race/ethnicity | <.01 | ||||
| White | 24 (51) | 36 (83) | 19 (81) | 28 (121) | |
| Black | 5 (11) | 5 (11) | 4 (19) | 4 (18) | |
| Asian | 32 (68) | 17 (39) | 21 (91) | 18 (78) | |
| Hispanic | 33 (70) | 37 (84) | 45 (192) | 39 (164) | |
| Other | 7 (15) | 6 (13) | 11 (45) | 11 (45) | |
| Female gender | 65 (141) | 62 (143) | 60 (258) | 60 (258) | .22 |
| Tobacco use | |||||
| Past 30 d smoking | 10 (21) | 11 (11) | 19 (81) | 12 (50) | .002 |
| I have seen someone smoking on campusa | 55 (119) | 68 (156) | 79 (337) | 95 (407) | <.01 |
| Exposed to secondhand smokeb | 38 (83) | 51 (117) | 68 (292) | 81 (349) | <.01 |
| Intend to smoke a cigarette (even a puff) in the next 6 mo on campusc | .02 | ||||
| Very or somewhat likely | 3 (6) | 9 (20) | 12 (51) | 9 (37) | |
| Very or somewhat unlikely | 97 (212) | 91 (209) | 88 (379) | 91 (393) | |
| Perceptions regarding tobacco policies | |||||
| Regulation of smoking on outdoor places is a good thingd | .04 | ||||
| Strongly agree or agree | 77 (167) | 67 (154) | 67 (289) | 71 (299) | |
| Neutral, disagree, or strongly disagree | 23 (49) | 33 (76) | 33 (141) | 30 (125) | |
Student exposure to individuals smoking on campus was assessed with the question, “In the past 7 days, I have seen someone smoking on campus. (yes/no).”
Student secondhand smoke exposure was assessed with the question, “In the past 7 days, I have been exposed to other people’s tobacco smoke on campus. (yes/no).”
Students’ intention to smoke on campus was assessed with the statement, “I intend to smoke a cigarette (even a puff) in the next 6 months on campus. (very likely, somewhat likely, somewhat unlikely, very unlikely).” Students responding “very likely” or “somewhat likely” were classified as intending to smoke on campus.
Student support was assessed with the question, “Regulation of smoking in outdoor places is a good thing. (strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, strongly disagree).” Responses of “strongly agree” or “agree” were combined to indicate support of policy.