Purdue Campus Likely to Become Completely Tobacco-Free

Source from:  purdueexponent.org By Kate DeWeese 09/19/07 09/20/2007

It will likely be a matter of when, not if, Purdue will become entirely tobacco-free. "It's a matter of time," said Carol Shelby, senior director of environmental health and public safety, "whether it will be two years or 10 years." The move toward a tobacco-free environment would be a lengthy process, however. Shelby said the idea has been brought to the attention of the administration, but there is much work to be done before considering implementation of such a rule. "We would have to engage our constituents," she said. "In addition, we would have to involve the City of West Lafayette; it's only fair to talk with them." Purdue followed other universities' lead two years ago and created a smoking policy banning tobacco use within 30 feet of campus buildings. Shelby said the University would likely also look to other schools for guidance in becoming entirely tobacco-free. More than 50 colleges and universities around the country are smoke-free, including five Indiana schools. Indiana University's main campus in Bloomington will implement their smoke-free policy Jan. 1. In addition, more than 4,000 Ball State University students voted last week in favor of a campus-wide smoking ban. Ball State's board of trustees and president will take the students' vote into consideration when making a decision regarding smoking on campus property. Shelby said regulation of a tobacco-free campus would likely be peer-to-peer. "But excessive violations would be dealt with in the University's normal disciplinary process," she said. That disciplinary process states that the Office of the Dean of Students would work with students who disobey the rule, and staff and faculty would report to their respective departments. The transition to a tobacco-free campus may inconvenience smokers, but she said she hopes students and employees respond as well as they have to the 30 foot rule; they generally comply. Although the move to a campus-wide smoking ban would be a large undertaking for the administration, Shelby said the focus would be on a healthy Purdue and the health of the smokers themselves. "We have to have incentives to help smokers quit and make them want to quit," she said. "I hope that we see that this will become a trend (on college campuses)." Tammy Loew, health advocacy coordinator at the Student Wellness Center, said a campus-wide smoking ban creates a healthy environment for students and employees. "We are seeing this on more and more college campuses across the country," Loew wrote in an e-mail. "Students will be graduating and moving on to smoke-free workplaces, so a smoke-free campus could prepare them for that transition." Enditem