Saturday, December 28, 2013
QUIT SMOKING : SDSU university bans smoking
QUIT SMOKING :
SDSU university bans smoking
University spokesman Greg Block said the new policy came from the University Senate and was passed with input from campus union representatives.
The campus already was largely tobacco-free but had 12 designated smoking areas. Block said workers will remove ashtrays from those areas and set up sandwich boards announcing the new policy before students return.
“I’m sure there will be people who don’t like the policy,” Block said, adding that the school has been working on ways to ease the transition to a smoke-free campus.
The policy prohibits smoking in all buildings and vehicles owned, occupied or leased by SDSU. Outdoor smoking on any campus property, including parking lots, also is prohibited.
The policy also prohibits the distribution of free tobacco products, advertising of tobacco products and sponsorships from tobacco companies.
Block said SDSU took a cue from UC San Diego, which created an informational website about its own nonsmoking policy that was implemented in September.
The website includes information to help students and faculty quit smoking and even provides a phone number to make appointments with counselors. A form that can be downloaded includes links and phone numbers to find other programs to help quit smoking.
The site also gives advice about how to talk to others who are spotted smoking on campus.
“As a member of the campus community, you play a vital role in supporting the policy, educating students, faculty, staff and visitors, and exemplifying social responsibility,” the site advises.
“There’s going to be smoking on campus, and hopefully people will be civil about it,” Block said.
People who come into contact with smokers are told to be respectful and have empathy, and the site offers a few scripts suggesting what to say in different situations.
“I wanted to let you know that SDSU is now a tobacco-free campus,” one sample script reads. “I know that this is a new policy and as a tobacco user, this must be a significant change for you. If you’re interested in our campus resources for tobacco cessation, a variety of in-person or online resources are listed at: http://smokefree.sdsu.edu.”
As with the prohibition against skateboarding at SDSU, block said he expects the non-smoking rule will be enforced voluntarily by people on campus.
“It’s called social enforcement,” he said. “Our police officers are not going to be walking around and giving tickets.”
Some students found on campus during the winter break questioned how the new policy could be enforced.
“I’m not sure it will work,” said Jin Salamack, a junior studying graphic design. “I feel like the students who do smoke will end up smoking all over campus. Now they just smoke in the designated areas.”
Although a non-smoker himself, Salamack said he has no problem with students who smoke on campus, which some do to relieve stress during finals.
Pradeep Reddy, an international graduate student studying TV and film, quit a 10-year smoking habit just six months ago. He also said he thinks the policy will be hard to enforce.
“I don’t see people quitting because of this,” he said.
Reddy said he has no problem with students smoking on campus, as long as they don’t leave cigarette butts behind.
Mark Losp, a junior studying business, is a non-smoker who is happy to see the new policy because it will get rid of second-hand smoke.
“Right now one of the designated smoking areas is by the engineering building, and a buddy says, ‘I wish they didn’t have it there because I can still smell it,’” Losp said. “The wind is going to carry the smoke.”
UC San Diego’s smoking ban was implemented about four months before the UC system was scheduled to introduce a similar prohibition on its 10 campuses. Smoking has been prohibited at UC medical centers since 2011, and UCLA introduced its own smoking ban last April.
According to Americans for Nonsmoker’s Rights, more than 1,180 colleges nationwide have adopted smoke-free policies. Of those, 798 also have imposed tobacco-free rules.
Point Loma Nazarene University and most community colleges in the county prohibit smoking on campus. Outdoor smoking areas still exist at Cal State San Marcos University and Southwestern College.
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