Seven Queen’s students are leading the charge to remove tobacco sales and tanning beds from campus.
They’re under the direction of the Campaign to Control Cancer (C2CC), a nationwide movement to educate and create dialogue around healthy living and community.
Tobacco is currently sold in Ye Olde Tuck Shoppe in the lower JDUC and a tanning bed can also be found on the same level at Signatures Hair and Tanning Salon.
In late 2012, C2CC created a two-year project for five participating universities, including Queen’s, to establish their own Campus Action Teams to make changes to their communities. The project is funded by the Ontario Trillium Foundation, which provides grants for charitable organizations.
Currently, the Queen’s team is in talks with the C2CC to devise a concrete plan for campus.
“We’re looking to align the University’s message with the services that they provide,” said Stephanie Ferguson, Nurs ’13, a core member of Queen’s Campus Action Team.
The team of students stress that having tobacco sales and tanning beds on campus contradicts Queen’s mission to create a healthy environment for students.
“We decided on these two issues because they both involve Type 1 carcinogens, which are known to cause cancer,” said Stefanie Lys, Nurs ’13, another core member of the team.
The team is also concerned about Queen’s progress on cancer control compared to other Ontario universities.
“Queen’s is falling behind on removing the sale of tobacco.
“We’re one of two last universities in Ontario that still sell tobacco on campus,” said Ellen McGarity-Shipley, PheKin ’15.
The owners of Ye Olde Tuck Shoppe declined to comment.
The Queen’s team officially launched their campaign on Feb. 4 — World Cancer Day — by collecting signatures in support of banning tanning on campus and for those under the age of 18 in Kingston.
Approximately 244 signatures were collected.
Team member Chantel Lutchman, Nurs ’13, noted that Queen’s is currently the only university in Ontario that has a tanning bed on campus.
Management at Signatures Hair and Tanning Salon couldn’t be reached for comment.
Right now, the Queen’s team is trying to generate support for their campaign and are looking into partnering with Queen’s School of Business to generate marketing ideas.
“What we want to do is create a policy framed as having healthy spaces on campus for students,” Lutchman said.
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