OU is banning smoking on campus starting this fall
Starting in August, Ohio University students will not have the option to light up a cigarette on campus, as OU’s Tobacco-Free Initiative goes into effect.
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Individuals will also not be allowed to smoke while on a short walk north on Court Street either, as the City of Athens recently prohibited smoking in most public places.
“I am not going to assume that no one is ever going to smoke on Ohio University grounds ever again after Aug. 1,” said Catherine Lee, coordinator of OU’s Tobacco-Free Campus initiative. “Our hope is that we will see a decrease in smoking.”
This policy will apply to students, staff, visitors, patients, customers and anyone on campus, Lee said.
The Tobacco-Free 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.
“I’m pleased to announce that our Athens campus will become tobacco-free be- ginning in August 2015,” McDavis said, in a video posted to the initiative’s website April 27.
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.
“Several campuses have preceded us in that; they moved a little quicker than we did,” Lee said. “We wanted to take a longer time just so that we were careful about the process and thoughtful about it.”
The Tobacco-Free Initiative conducted surveys, and a task force was put forth to make a recommendation on whether OU should go tobacco-free, Lee said.
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, city parking lots and sidewalks, according to a previous Post report.
Jayme Beal, a student studying health administration, thinks the Tobacco-Free Initiative is a good thing.
“No one likes to see cigarettes laying (on the ground) and smell the smoke,” Beal said.“A lot more people don’t smoke than do smoke.”
There currently is no punishment in place next semester for lighting up a cigarette on campus. Officials are instead relying on cooperation from both smokers and non-smokers.
“We haven’t really outlined any punishments,” Lee said. “We want to focus on asking for compliance and reminding people and encouraging people to con- sider the wellness aspects of the policy.”
Katie Black, a senior studying nutrition, said she is in favor of the initiative.
“I think it will simultaneously make the campus either healthier or sneakier,” Black said.
McDavis and soon-to-be former Vice President for Student Affairs Ryan Lombardi have expressed that they don’t want students suspended or employees fired for smoking on campus.
“We will join more than 1,000 campuses nationwide who ban the use of tobacco on their campuses,” McDavis said in the video.
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.
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