The selection of smoke-free spaces, took into consideration premises with no smokers at all or only one- if he or she smokes away from the site; no detected signs of tobacco consumption in the areas nearby the premises. Photo: Tania García Torres
Declaration of smoke-free spaces in the students residence
The selection of smoke-free spaces, took into consideration premises with no smokers at all or only one- if he or she smokes away from the site; no detected signs of tobacco consumption in the areas nearby the premises. Photo: Tania García Torres
Being conscious about assuming an attitude to quit the habit of tobacco consumption, this week the Students Residence turned into the first area at UCI to declare some of its installations smoke-free spaces.
As revealed by the head of the Department of University Welfare in the institution (DBU, by its acronym in Spanish), Susel García Cedeño, 111 student apartments were declared smoke-free places.
Among the Smoke-free apartments chosen, there are 12 from the Introductory Faculty of Computer Sciences (FICI), 26 from School 1, 27 from School 2, 14 from School 3, 16 from School 4 and 16 from the of Sciences and Computational Technologies (CITEC).
The selection of smoke-free spaces, according to the Head of the Department of University Welfare, took into consideration the following: premises with no smokers at all or only one- if he or she smokes away from the site; no detected signs of tobacco consumption (ashtrays, cigarette packages, ash, smell of smoke or people smoking) in the areas nearby the premises; and finally, knowledge of the people in the locale about the negative health effects of passive and active smoking.
During the World No Tobacco Day in Cuba, the Department of University Welfare at UCI promoted various educational actions, intended for the young people. There was a workshop aimed at the residence educational instructors, and several talks were also given in students’ residence 1 and 2.
To close the campaign, on June 9, the Department plans to place identification tags in different spaces, where other areas are involved.
According to the diagnosis made by UCI Department of University Welfare, 11% of the students smoke on a regular basis, and 10% on an occasional basis. Out of every 10 students, at least two consume cigarettes. However, the number of smokers decreased by 3% compared to that of academic year 2014-2015.
Cuba is the third country in the Latin American region with the highest rate of addiction, with a smoking prevalence increased, according to the WHO.
