Allen University, Wofford College get grants toward tobacco free campus

Columbia, SC (WOLO) — Two universities here in South Carolina are aiming to have their students incorporate a healthier lifestyle for themselves and their peers.  The CVS Health Foundation, Truth initiative along with The American Cancer Society are helping them do just that with a $28 thousand dollar grant given to them today, Tuesday March 19th, 2019.

The money comes from Be The First, A 5 year, 50 million dollar initiative that is being used in conjunction to the CVS Health Foundation new $100 million dollar Building Healthier Communities campaign. The more than 1.4 million dollar grant pool that is being separated between 82 other school across the country with a goal of creating a tobacco free generation. This new funding will allow the schools receiving money put efforts in place to prohibit smoking of any kind, including e-cigarettes, and other tobacco products.

According to The CVS Health Foundation, conventional smoking has dropped, while the use of E-Cigs have increased to some 2.9 million young adults ages 18 -24. Health officials with company also believe the use of E-Cigs  makes someone four times more likely to pick up smoking tobacco and is deterring the progress that has been made up to this point. According to data collected by the company, there are still 5000 schools across the country that have no comprehensive policy in place.

Eileen Howard, The President of CVS Health Foundation says “A critical goal in building healthier communities across the country is reducing tobacco-use, which remains one of the leading causes of preventable death in this country,…By helping more colleges and universities explore and execute on tobacco-free policies, we’re able to positively influence the number of new college-age smokers and get one step closer to our goal of seeing the first tobacco-free generation.”

If you would like to see the full list of colleges that are getting the grant you can click on the following link: https://cvshealth.com/social-responsibility/be-the-first/tobacco-free-generation-campus-initiative