GAINESVILLE , Georgia ( CNN ) -- When 19-year-old Reid Overton wants to smoke a cigarette on his college campus , he has to walk to a distant parking lot and get into his car , but he does n't seem to mind . `` Even as a smoker , I do n't like to walk past a cloud of smoke , '' he says . Reid Overton , a freshman at Gainesville State College in Georgia , heads to his car when he wants a smoke . Overton is one of 5,300 students at Gainesville State College , an hour north of Atlanta , Georgia . A 4-year-old ban prohibits anyone from using tobacco products on campus , including students , faculty and visitors . A smoke-free campus was the brainchild of longtime college president Martha Nesbitt , herself a former smoker . `` It 's just a healthier place to be , '' says Nesbitt , `` because as you go in a building , you 're not going to have to go through smoke . When you walk out , you do n't see cigarette butts littered around . It 's just a cleaner , healthier campus . '' Nesbitt reports there have n't been any problems enforcing the ban . Signs are posted around campus , and the policy is prominently displayed on everything from the school Web site to admissions applications . The American Nonsmokers ' Rights Foundation reports nearly 60 college campuses around the United States have smoke-free policies that affect the entire campus . Other schools have limited restrictions , banning smoking indoors in residential housing and student facilities . Nesbitt believes her college is one of the first to fully prohibit the use of tobacco products . Watch more on efforts to curb smoking on campus » . The American Cancer Society says the movement is catching on . `` The trend toward a smoke-free country is going on everywhere , '' says Daniel Smith , president of the American Cancer Society Action Network . `` I think college campuses are simply reflecting the same trend we 're seeing in society . '' With the 30th anniversary this week of the nationwide Great American Smokeout , the cancer society is pushing a smoke-free college campus initiative . It encourages campus coordinators to hold competitions and distribute survival kits that include gum and support information . The group is trying to convince students that if they can quit for a day , they can quit for good . According to the cancer society , the prevalence of smoking in the United States is highest among college-age students , ages 18 to 24 . While other age groups are decreasing their tobacco use , the cancer society says college students are smoking at a greater rate . Those statistics worry Smith . `` We know that 30 percent of all cancers are caused by smoking , '' he says . He blames the addiction rates among young adults on heavy marketing efforts on college campuses by tobacco companies . `` Many people might initially think it 's cool . But when they 're educated about the health effects , by that time , they are addicted , and it 's very hard to quit . '' Overton is n't all that worried about cutting back on his pack-a-day smoking habit , but he says that long walk to his car has provided some added benefits . `` It does n't encourage me to quit , but it does encourage me to cut back some . '' That 's welcome news for some of his nonsmoking classmates . `` I 'm not forced to be around all of the smokers , '' says freshman Matthew Bradford , 19 . `` I 'm not breathing it in all of the time , and it 's nice to get some fresh air when you get out of class . '' E-mail to a friend . Judy Fortin is a correspondent with CNN Medical News .
American Cancer Society : Trend of smoke-free colleges is growing . Nearly 60 U.S. colleges have smoke-free policies that affect entire campus . Cancer society : U.S. smoking prevalence highest among people ages 18-24 .