As students returned to campus last week, tobacco users and non-tobacco users were greeted with the new Tobacco Free Policy that became effective July 1.
The changes around campus are subtle: the ashcans are gone and there are “tobacco free” signs on the doors as you enter the buildings. Some students argue that these small changes will not be enough to discourage the campus community from using tobacco products on school property.
So far, however, students, faculty and staff have been positively responding to the new guidelines. For those who feared heavy opposition, there doesn’t seem much to be concerned about. The sidewalks surrounding campus – Third Avenue, Hal Greer Boulevard, Fifth Avenue and 20th Street – are public property, and this is where tobacco using students, faculty and staff can be found freely use their tobacco products.
Perhaps the ease in this transition is due to the fact that, according to the Assessment Day Survey information from 2012, 71 percent of students and 74 percent of faculty were in favor of a tobacco-free campus. With so many in favor of the change, it’s hard to argue that the new policy will be largely ignored.
It is true that enforcement of the policy is mostly left up to Student Health Education Programs, but the ultimate goal of the policy is that it becomes self-regulating. With only a week and a half into the semester, and just over two months since the establishment of the policy, self-regulation is well underway.
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