Campus smoking bans becoming more common

By Diane Smith

dianesmith@star-telegram.com

That image of college students lighting up a quick cigarette to relieve final exam stress or simply hanging out amid a swirl of smoke won't be a stereotype much longer.

Picture instead a campus officer politely asking a student or professor to put out a cigarette.

Nationwide, community colleges and public and private universities have tightened regulation of tobacco use or banned tobacco products.

The University of Texas at Arlington went tobacco-free last year, and Tarrant County College campuses became nonsmoking three years ago. The University of North Texas is looking at making the Denton campus tobacco-free by Jan. 1.

The shift reflects smoking bans in cities and communities and efforts to address the dangers of smoking and secondhand smoke. Texas Christian University, for example, cites a Fort Worth city ordinance in banning smoking at any facility and in university-owned vehicles.

"At UNT, we are committed to the safety and health of our employees," UNT President V. Lane Rawlins wrote in a May 7 letter to the campus community. "We therefore are beginning a process to develop the policies for a smoke-free environment."

Some students are beginning to stress the need for tough and fair enforcement of campus smoking bans. They want to make sure the rules are followed by everyone, including faculty.

Teaching and policing

The keys to the campus tobacco rules are education and enforcement.

Since UT Arlington banned tobacco in August, it has been conducting an informational campaign that includes an explanation of the rules and policies on the school's website and putting up signs stating that it is a tobacco-free university, spokeswoman Kristin Sullivan said.

This spring, campus police did walk-by checks of areas where tobacco users gathered or areas identified through complaints. Police referred 25 students for potential disciplinary action, records show.

First-time offenders were sent a reminder notice of the policy with information about smoking-cessation aids available at the campus Health Services Center, Sullivan said. The letters also state that future violations will be handled through the student conduct process.

Under the policy, repeat violators can be referred to human resources or the vice president of student affairs for administrative review.

Jennifer Fox, president of UT Arlington's Student Congress, said many students are happy with the tobacco ban. She said the university has allowed a "grace period" before fully enforcing the rules. Now that it's been in place almost a year, it's time to step up enforcement, she said.

"We need to show the campus and the community that we are serious about being tobacco-free," Fox said.

Since 2009, 108 citations have been issued at Tarrant County College.

TCC adopted a nonsmoking policy in April 2009. The aim, according to the college, was to provide a healthier, more eco-friendly setting while eliminating cigarette litter.

Under TCC policy, use of all tobacco products is banned on college-owned or leased grounds. Violations can result in fines and/or disciplinary action. Referrals to programs to help people stop smoking are also available.

Equal enforcement of the TCC policy has recently become an issue to some. One student says that an automotive instructor smokes in a building, leaving the hallways and classroom smelling of smoke, and that the smoking continues even after he made several complaints by telephone to TCC administrators.

"There are at least five or six students who are just tired of it," said the student, who asked not to be identified for fear of classroom retaliation. "I am disappointed because this has gone on for a good three months."

An e-mail obtained through an open-records request shows that administrators discussed complaints with the instructor and reminded him of the no-smoking policy on all campuses.

Student protests

The shift to tobacco-free campuses has stirred other students to ask whether college chancellors and presidents can tell people how to live their lives.

In November, students at UNT protested the proposed smoking ban by handing out free cigarettes. Similar protests have taken place in other regions.

Carlos Alfaro, a senior at Arizona State University and a member of the Students for Liberty executive board, said the group is pushing back against public colleges and universities banning smoking. He said public institutions rely on funding from the public and must find ways to accommodate smokers and nonsmokers.

"They cannot try to change people's habits or lifestyle; they have to share the space," said Alfaro, who doesn't smoke cigarettes but indulges in an occasional cigar.

"It becomes a nanny state at that point. It's not a matter of smoking. It's a matter of having the ability to make decisions for yourself. Which is what college is all about," said Alfaro, whose group supported a protest against a ban at Maricopa Community Colleges in Arizona in March.

At Alfaro's school, efforts are under way to ban smoking. Arizona State says students began a drive to establish a smoke-free university about two years ago.

The effort is supported by student government groups and was advanced to the University Staff Council, which has also supported the initiative. The university is awaiting additional feedback and support from the Faculty Senate this fall before moving forward with a recommended policy to the university administration to make ASU a smoke-free institution, according to ASU.

Many students are OK with efforts that they say help student health in the long run.

"I look at this policy not as a limiting of rights, but a promotion of good health and wellness on our campus," said Troy Elliott, a sophomore at UNT majoring in music education and vocal performance.

Grants are incentive

An added incentive for Texas' top universities to ban smoking may be financial: Some grants offered by the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas after July 26 require a tobacco-free workplace.

Seventy-two academic institutions are listed as having received awards from the institute, including UNT and UT Arlington.

Ellen Read, spokeswoman for the institute, said the rules apply to buildings or work spaces in which its funding is being used for cancer research. Some universities have opted to go completely tobacco-free, but that isn't in the rules, she said.

"That's not what we require," she said, adding that that trend toward tobacco-free institutions is a positive side effect.

"Our goal is to eradicate cancer," she said.

Diane Smith, 817-390-7675

Twitter: @dianestar

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