The Board of Trustees voted this week to support a “Tobacco-Free SUNY” policy and seek New York State legislation that bans the use of tobacco on SUNY grounds and facilities. SUNY is now the largest public university system in the United States to adopt a policy of this magnitude against tobacco use.
The policy, which is aimed to be implemented by the end of 2013, needs to be passed as a State law in order for it to take full effect. University at Buffalo, SUNY Cortland, SUNY Canton and Upstate Medical Univeristy already have a tobacco restriction on campus; UAlbany and others have designated non-smoking areas.
The historic adoption by the Board of Trustees may be the final step in the Chancellor’s Task Force for a Tobacco-Free SUNY. While the Board is looking to improve overall wellbeing of its students, the move is not to simply take the butts out of students’ and staffs’ mouths; it is also to grow the SUNY body image and lessen the risk of accidental fires.
“SUNY has a responsibility to promote the health of our students, faculty, staff and visitors while they are on our campuses,” said SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher. “I commend the Board for making the health of these groups a priority.”
Chairman of the Board H. Carl McCall added, “By establishing a policy that will prohibit the use of tobacco among our 468,000 students and 88,000 employees on campuses across New York, we will have a positive impact on their health and that of our visitors.”
Whatever it is, no matter what it is to be called. As long as it means on keeping away from the nicotine smoke then it is an excellent idea.
Suny Alfred has designated smoke areas on campus, and I was there before the those designated smoke areas went into place as well. I honestly saw very little of a difference. Making campuses smoke free, although the thought is in the best interest, I see it as almost a waste on money. Put the money into better teachers, and other academic funds. Students will not follow the rule of no smoking on campus, or only smoking in designated areas. In order to get students to possibly follow such a rule is going to cost more money in enforcement (i.e. more on campus security). As a student who has graduated from the suny system I feel that I could have benifited more had some of my teachers been better equipt to give me the information I needed rather then the school have rules that cost more to enforce.
Making them smoke free isn’t going to make students stop smoking. They’re instead going to try and hide it or go somewhere else to do it. If anything, i agree with the post above, make a smoking area for them so aren’t attempting to hide it anywhere on the campus.
I know on the suny potsdam campus, their plan for going smoke free is to have designated smoking areas in the parking lot… which isn’t really going smoke free if you’re just going to move it to different parking lots around campus
Is it tobacco-free or smoke-free?
The difference is students being able to have tobacco in their rooms for use off campus or not. Will there be designated smoking areas for students/faculty?