Restricting smoking at the University of Köln, Germany: a case study

The effects of a new policy limiting smoking to separate, designated areas in School of Education buildings at the University of Köln, Germany, were analyzed. Although the majority (77%) of the 1,223 students surveyed did not expect the changed policy to affect their smoking habits, approximately 28% of the men and 30% of the women said they were smoking less at the university after the change went into effect. Ninety-one percent of the nonsmoking students and 68% of the smokers supported the new policy. Smoking rates among Köln students are not significantly different from those of the adult German population, where 34% of the women and 41% of the men are smokers. The findings in this study indicate that such a policy change may result in a net decrease in amount smoked and could be a successful intervention in countries where smoking rates are traditionally higher than they are in the United States.