Only a handful of universities nationwide still sell cigarettes on their campuses, and the University of Oregon is one of them. Recently, students and faculty at the University and across Oregon campuses have considered the prohibition of tobacco sales. But without tobacco revenue, the Erb Essentials convenience store in the EMU could lose nearly $30,000 — more than double the loss other schools face.
University health officials, faculty and some students have expressed concern that the University is selling harmful products on school property. Professor V. Pat Lombardi brought the issue to the EMU Board at the end of October, and ever since, board members have considered alternatives that could compensate for the loss of tobacco revenue.
Meanwhile, the Bookstore’s Board of Directors will meet Dec. 4 to discuss and possibly vote on prohibiting tobacco sales in the bookstore, Williams said.
The EMU Board concluded its Nov. 8 meeting undecided about whether to continue to sell tobacco in Erb Essentials. Board members wanted more research about other colleges and universities that have already banned tobacco.
Oregon State University banned tobacco more than a decade ago, according to OSU health and Memorial Union representatives. Portland State University and Lane Community College continue to sell tobacco on their campuses, but both are considering proposals to discontinue tobacco sales.
Erb Essentials’ financial loss, however, could be significantly higher than that at other schools.
If the convenience store discontinued tobacco sales, it would suffer a yearly loss similar to last year’s profit of $28,000, EMU Food Services Director John Costello said. He said any profits earned from tobacco go into the total food service budget, which funds all of the food vendors in the EMU.
At the board meeting, members expressed concern that without tobacco profits, part of the student incidental fee would be pulled from student groups to make up for the losses.
The bookstore, however, would not experience as significant a financial loss if it discontinued tobacco sales, bookstore manager Jim Williams said. Of the bookstore’s $20 million in annual sales, cigarettes bring in approximately $20,000 in gross profit, he said.
“For the bookstore, the decision is not a financial decision,” he said. “It is an ethical decision.”
Shelley Dutton, LCC’s bookstore manager, said LCC’s loss would be around $1,400. By the end of the term, LCC will decide whether to continue offering tobacco products, she said. LCC students and faculty surveyed had mixed opinions on the issue, Dutton said.
PSU’s tobacco profit is also significantly lower than the University’s. According to Smith Memorial Center accountant Kari Albright, last year’s in-store profits were approximately $12,000.
Julianne Ballard, a registered nurse at PSU, attributes the low sales to the campus’s location, which gives students close access to many other tobacco vendors.
She said PSU is just beginning to look at the tobacco policies at other universities, with a particular focus on OSU.
“We are interested in ending tobacco sales as well, but we want to do what the students want,” she said.
Nationwide, the University of Rhode Island and the University of Arkansas have passed policies in the last year that included tobacco sale prohibition, said Julia Martin of Tobacco Free Lane County, a group that educates the public about tobacco’s health risks.
At OSU, there has been little student protest to the ban, said Susan Poole, an OSU student health relations representative.
“We look at it as enhancing the health (of the community) by being tobacco-free,” she said.
Emerald student activities reporter Diane
Huber can be reached
at [email protected].