Ohio University is putting in place a campus-wide smoking ban starting this semester
Starting fall semester, Ohio University students will not have the option to light up a cigarette or use any tobacco products on campus after OU’s Tobacco-Free Initiative goes into effect.
However, individuals will be allowed to smoke at any location off campus. The new policy will apply to students, staff, visitors, patients, customers and anyone on campus, Catherine Lee, coordinator of OU’s Tobacco-Free Campus initiative, said.
That initiative encompasses all nicotine, tobacco-derived and plant-based products, including cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, cigars, hookah and smokeless tobacco.
Those products will be prohibited in university facilities, properties, grounds and sidewalks adjacent to university buildings.
Currently, there is no punishment put in place for smoking on campus with the ban in place.
“The tobacco-free policy is first and foremost a policy of compliance,” Lee said, in an email. “The philosophy of the policy is based on respect for others and the environment, and it is also a wellness initiative for the University community.”
Officials are relying on compliance from both smokers and nonsmokers. Lee asks that if a student sees someone using tobacco on campus, he or she should remind the smoker that OU is a tobacco-free campus and the use of such products is not allowed.
A code of conduct charge for a student and progressive discipline for an employee could be possible if they continue the use of tobacco products after several conversations and documentation have been noted, although Lee hopes conversations can stop this from happening.
“I can say for now that our first step, especially in the beginning, will be focusing on compliance and reminding people about the policy,” Lee said.
{{tncms-asset app="editorial" id="a1f1270e-2332-11e5-8d33-4fd1e374c6f8"}}
Some students support the new policy.
“No one that doesn't smoke likes walking to class with smoke in their face,” Nick Johnson, a senior studying business, said in a tweet.
Although he is in favor of the smoking ban, he thinks the new policy could be hard to enforce. The initiative began with the Ohio Board of Regents’ recommendation in July 2012 for all public universities in Ohio to become tobacco-free, Lee said.
“The ban is lovely. Seeing tobacco spit on the sidewalks is disgusting. Holding my breath to enter a building should not happen,” Kelsey Shope, a fifth year senior studying integrated language arts, said in a tweet.
However, some students, such as Whitney Belcher, a freshman studying biological sciences, are concerned with how effective the ban will be.
“There will be many freshmen, sophomores and upperclassmen, even faculty members, who have spent many years smoking and, quite frankly, they might need it to be able to go on with their days,” Belcher said. “I just simply don’t understand or see how it’s going to work.”
Belcher also said she thinks the university should enforce the current university policy of smokers staying away from campus building doors rather than implement the new policy.
There are two exceptions to the initiative according to the website: FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapy and the use of tobacco for controlled research, educational, clinical or religious ceremonial purpose with prior approval from the dean or director responsible for the facility.
While students have the option of heading off campus to smoke or use tobacco products, they may face consequences from city authorities.
Through an ordinance put into effect Jan. 1, the city of Athens now prohibits the use of tobacco at city-owned recreational properties, such as parks, sports fields and the recreation center, according to a previous Post report.
Additionally, Athens City Council passed an ordinance that would allow authorities to dole out littering fines to those who choose to toss their cigarette butts on to city property, according to previous Post reports.
Over the summer, the city installed a number of cigarette butt bins Uptown to give smokers an appropriate place to toss their litter.
“I know that they (the City of Athens) are expecting a higher number of smokers on city sidewalks due to our tobacco-free initiative that will be asking people to leave campus to light up, so the timing for these bins is perfect,” Lee said.
@megankhenry
