“How will our members react to a tobacco-free campus?”
“Will this change the way we interact with them?”
“What if members stop coming?”
These questions echo the concerns that behavioral health organizations across the country ask when proposing tobacco-free policies. Yet when faced with the fact that in the U.S., adults living with mental illnesses and substance use disorders use tobacco at a rate that’s 71% higher than their peers — leaving them disproportionately impacted by cancer and other health problems — Way Station Inc. knew they needed to act despite the lingering questions.
The road to becoming a tobacco-free campus involved agency-wide efforts to obtain buy-in from members, staff and organizational leadership, as well as expanding cessation resources. To learn more about how Way Station made the transition to a tobacco-free campus watch the video below.
For a step-by step guide on how behavioral health providers can develop and implement tobacco-free policies, check out our tobacco-free policy resources page.