New efforts are being made to prevent American college campuses(校园) from cigarette smoking. Twenty colleges in the United States recently received money to help protect their campuses from the harm of cigarettes.
Supporters say that every child deserves to grow up in a safe and healthy environment free from harmful secondhand cigarettes. And in November, smoking at college campuses may become illegal.
Before banning smoking at college campuses, the US has passed laws banning smoking at most workplaces. 27 American states ban smoking in all indoor workplaces.
Those supporting smokefree at workplaces and college campuses give one major reason: the bad influence of smoking on health.
The Centers for Discase Control (CDC) says smoking has a great influence on health. They think cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable deaths in the United States. Smoking is responsible for 480, 000 deaths every year.
Supporters say the bad influence of secondhand smoke makes it a public health problem. Some also say that college campuses are a good place to ban smoking.
Gary Reedy, the CEO of the American Cancer Society，said it was important to stop college students from smoking, and he expected to successfully create a cigarettefree generation(世代).
The CDC found that 13 percent of adults between the ages of 18 and 24 smoke cigarettes. Reedy says that reducing the number of college students who smoke can help reduce the number of older adult smokers. He also says once a person starts smoking, it is hard to stop.