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UB smoke free on Aug. 1
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“Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States and there is no safe level of secondhand smoke—if you can smell smoke, you are breathing in cancer-causing chemicals.”
UB’s 100-percent smoke-free policy will take effect on Aug. 1, with smoking prohibited in all buildings and on the grounds—including in the parking lots and green spaces—of the university’s three campuses.
The policy, which was announced last Nov. 20— onthe American Cancer Society’s Great American Smokeout—was endorsed by the UB Council at Monday’s meeting. The council also approved changes in the Student Conduct Rules that were necessary to implement the smoke-free policy.
UB joins a growing list of U.S. colleges and universities—305 at last count, according to the lobbying organization Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights—that have enacted 100-percent smoke-free policies.
David Dunn, vice president for health sciences, said the effort to make UB a totally smoke-free campus began about two years when he was approached by Helen Cappuccino, M.D. ’88, clinical assistant professor of surgery and at the time president of the Medical Alumni Association, who wanted UB to consider implementing a no-smoking policy.
“We were hearing from folks that there were a certain number of individuals who wanted to smoke and were habitual smokers, but that was only 15-20 percent (of the campus population) at most,” Dunn said. “The other 80 percent did not want to deal with secondhand, or what’s called involuntary, smoke inhalation.”
Dunn noted that while Roswell Park Cancer Institute and SUNY Upstate Medical University have gone totally smoke free, trying to implement a similar policy at a comprehensive campus like UB, particularly over three campuses, “presents a series of different challenges.”
UB’s initial approach has been to try to “educate folks about what the dangers of tobacco use are,” he said, pointing out that smoking causes lung cancer and contributes to a variety of cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases.
“Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States and there is no safe level of secondhand smoke—if you can smell smoke, you are breathing in cancer-causing chemicals,” he said.
UB’s no-smoking initiative—known as UBreathe Free—involves representatives of the Academic Health Center, University Human Resources and Student Affairs, who have been working to come up with a formal policy.
The UBreathe committee decided that “a punitive approach to smoking was not the right way to go,” Dunn said. “The smartest thing we could do would be to educate people, provide them with assistance with cessation, stop facilitation—don’t make it readily available—and tie this into a ‘Greener Shade of Blue.’”
“What we want to do is ‘de-normalize’ smoking,” added Cappuccino, who co-chairs the UBreathe Free committee with Gary Giovino, professor and chair of the Department of Health Behavior in the School of Public Health and Health Professions.
The response to the smoke-free policy so far has been overwhelmingly positive, Dunn says. “I can’t tell you how many people have come up to me and said, ‘We’re so glad this policy is going into effect.’ They’re tired of seeing cigarette butts on the ground or walking through a cloud that they know is cigarette smoke when they walk into a building.”
The UBreathe Free initiative also offers assistance to smokers who want to quit. Free nicotine gum and patches are available to any UB employee or student age 18 or older, while supplies last, at Wellness Education Services, 114 Student Union, North Campus, and at Wellness and Work/Life Balance, 105 HRD, North Campus, and through the Employee Assistance Program, 156 Parker Hall, South Campus.
In addition, any New York State resident can call the NYS Smokers Quitline at 1-866-697-8487 to speak to a representative.
The UBreathe Web site also offers a variety or resources for quitting.
Reader Comments
Joe Momma says:
i was happy when i heard this. i hate 2nd hand smoking. but it doesnt matter if they make the school smoke free cause they dont enforce it. im sitting right now in celements hall lab room and im looking at 3 airhead's smoke away
Posted by Joe Momma, , 08/06/09
Sean Bhaskar says:
UB doing this to students is completely ridiculous, and I for one will be strolling through campus smoking my cigarette anyways, Can they really do this to us? Turn UB into a prison? We should look into the law of this act and see if we can do something by-law?
Posted by Sean Bhaskar, , 08/03/09
Michael Grimble says:
When I was studying in Newcastle, UK the campus had a no smoking policy which was “self policing.” However, I came to find that my doorman was fired from the University for appearing on surveillance video smoking a cigar outside while patrolling the perimeter of the dormitory at 3am. It seemed insane that they would fire someone who had worked there for 20+ years for such a pathetic reason.
Posted by Michael Grimble, Staff Member/Former Student, 07/21/09
Everett Sauter says:
UB has never been one for the type of wild school spirit you can see at some universities. Turning the students on each-other in this fashion may just harm the "community" feeling. This is all very unnerving, kinda smells like fascism if you ask me. Clearly no one has asked me, or any other student for that matter.
Posted by Everett Sauter, Sniff! Sniff!, 07/18/09
Bernadette C says:
Yippee! Addictive or not, smoking is a choice and very few would argue that it is a good one.
Posted by Bernadette C, student, 07/16/09
M. Collins says:
I think this is one of those ideas that looks really good on paper, but logistically will be a headache for everyone. We are no longer high school kids who have to hide on school grounds to smoke a cigarette or walk as far as necessary to be "off grounds." Students and staff here are legally old enough to make the conscious decision whether or not to smoke. I think designated smoking areas, far enough away from buildings' main entrances, would be more practical and will allow UB's law enforcement to concentrate their time and more importantly their attention on more significant things.
Posted by M. Collins, UB Staff and BA & MA Alumni, 07/16/09
Toni Vaughan says:
I think this is ridiculous, there are bigger problems on campus that need immediate attention(all the rapes, robberies, murders)near r on all the campuses. Incidents like these are what the enforcers should be concentrating on and trying to prevent, not cigarettes!!!
Posted by Toni Vaughan, Student, 06/10/09
Christopher Goodwin says:
Bottom line, you can't realistically enforce this over an entire campus, students will always find a place to smoke, they will find a place to go on campus. Somewhere that maybe won't draw a lot of attention.
I understand the issues with non smokers and I am sympathetic, I don't think a non smoker should have to inhale my smoke, but perhaps UB should have made designated smoking areas, away from the doors and hallways, that way non-smokers have the choice to avoid it, instead of being blind sided by a cloud of smoke when they walk out of class.
In the interest of full disclosure I would like to point out that I am a smoker.
Posted by Christopher Goodwin, Psychology Student, 06/10/09
James Cousins says:
Dave Mauzy's comment isn't actually all that accurate. When you deal with public agencies they are bound to respect your Constitutional rights - both state and Federal - unless there is some compelling reason to curtail them; and any policy that might is still subject to a legal challenge. UB is a public school and its campuses are public grounds. On the other hand, private groups and private citizens may infringe on your rights with relative impunity except for a civil suit. I agree with Dave though that enforcement is nearly impossible save in limited situations.
Posted by James Cousins, Law Student, 06/09/09
Dave Mauzy says:
While this can be seen as an infringement upon one's rights, bottom line is that this is not public space. You lose rights upon leaving public space and entering a State/Government Space. Always have, always will barring revolution. Given that, I don't see how they can possibly enforce this effectively outside the buildings themselves and immediately surrounding areas. To do so would require silly amounts of manpower on which they simply should not be wasting resources, or surveillance that borders on illegal even for a government facility. As for the concern of the students and students taking last place, it is important to understand that UB exists for research first and students are merely extra income... a sad fact, perhaps, but a fact none-the-less. There will be a lot of arguing over rights but weigh the right of the person who smokes to smoke, over the right of the one who does not to breathe unpolluted air. They both have that right. Designated areas on the campus periphery with highly specialized filtering systems would have made us just as eco-friendly.
Posted by Dave Mauzy, Sr Programmer, DSI Enterprises, 06/09/09
April Miller says:
It will be nice to be able to walk into Health Services in Michael Hall without being forced to walk past the Health Services employee smoking on the steps. Other than that, I think it's not a great idea.
Posted by April Miller, Student, 06/08/09
Chris Scibilia says:
What's going to happen to the students that live in the dorms and would like to smoke at 2 am? So a female student must walk off campus at 2 am to smoke (becuase she has every right) in the dark? Working as an advocate for sexually assaulted victims, this is a HUGE saftey risk for students, especially those far away from home, living in the dorms. This was a plan that definately failed to consider the issues of reality.
Posted by Chris Scibilia, Student's Safety at Risk, 06/08/09
Chris Scibilia says:
I am a nonsmoker, but the lack of consideration for people that smoke is ridiculous. Why don't we put our effort towards the safety of students living in University Heights, instead of focusing on health issues 20 years down the road? Just a realistic thought.
Posted by Chris Scibilia, Smokers pay tuition too!, 06/08/09
Evan Bylewski says:
This is a great thought but completely impractical. Good luck to UB police or whomever is going to implement these new policies. The only change I can see occuring is a more widespread smoking over a bigger area now instead of mass students huddled outside of entrances. I love the idea but UB is setting itself up for trouble in the coming years.
Posted by Evan Bylewski, Student, 06/08/09
Victoria Vacanti says:
I am a non-smoker, but I still believe that the campus should have designated smoking areas for those who choose to smoke.
Posted by Victoria Vacanti, student, 06/08/09
Patti Brocato says:
This is a great step for the University because there are children who attend the different buildings housing Child Care, & also, they go outside to reap the benefits of a safe environment.
Posted by Patti Brocato, Receptionist, UB Child Care Center, 06/08/09
Elayna H says:
So what happens if people are caught smoking on campus??? What is the penalty? I feel like this is a great idea which will most likely be very poorly enforced.
Posted by Elayna H, enforcement??, 06/08/09
sashivarnan sabanathan says:
I wonder what would the chain smokers do from fall. Where will they go? Being a non-smoker I feel bad for the smokers. In the other hand it would help some of them to quite too. I hope this plan works successfully.
Posted by sashivarnan sabanathan, minority, 06/07/09
Nick Fiesel says:
15-20% is a significant portion of the population that this act is attempting to alienate. This article suggests that 20% is negligible. Creating a 100% free-of-anything environment is impractical and unachievable. What we need is a thoughtfully carried out plan of designated smoking areas combined with an education program, not an outright ban.
Posted by Nick Fiesel, Disappointing, 06/06/09
Jathiyah L says:
I am glad this is finally happening. I can't tell you how many times I had to hold my breath walking into capen library. That was very unfair. Thank You UB!
Posted by Jathiyah L, PharmD student, 06/06/09
Phillip Morris says:
I find it ironic that this UBreathe Free program is funded by the increasingly high tax dollars I pay to the government for my cigarettes. At least have a smoking area or designate it to parking lots.
Posted by Phillip Morris, Student, 06/05/09
Godfrey Telli says:
Is this University or prison? Where is the freedom of choice, respect of human rights and the rights of minority?
Posted by Godfrey Telli, Graduate Assistant, 06/05/09
Gloria Paveljack says:
I am so glad the campus is going smoke free. As an asthmatic with chronic lung problems, it is extremely difficult for me entering buildings when you have five people standing in front of the doors smoking. Walking through that smoke has on many occasions triggered asthma attacks for me. It is also hard for me to sit outside and enjoy the nice weather in public places like The Commons, where people freely "light up" without any regard as to where their smoke is going. I shouldn't be forced to inhale someone elses smoke in outdoor spaces. Thank you UBreathe Free Committee! The campus will now be a more healthier environment to enjoy.
Posted by Gloria Paveljack, Sr. Staff Assistant, 06/05/09
Aaron Festinger says:
Wonderful. After decades of trying to safeguard human rights we're still subjecting people to the involuntary removal of basic rights and freedoms because we think we know better. A wonderful way to demonstrate that all of the liberal ideas we study here amount to nothing. Way to oppress a " 15-20% " minority.
Posted by Aaron Festinger, Major Betrayal , 06/04/09
Stephanie L says:
Kudos to UB!! One more step in the direction of a cleaner, healthier-looking campus!
Posted by Stephanie L, Community member, 06/04/09
Jim Campbell says:
While I appreciate not having to breathe someone else's smoke on campus, this appears to be another instance of a well-intentioned but fundamentally misguided prohibition. We all know that smoking is both legal and addictive. To ban it completely on campus without taking into account both its legality and its addictive nature is high handed and unrealistic. Give people more restricted places in which to smoke and provide them with assistance in getting off the habit. And while you are at it UBreathe Free, give us more convenient parking, so that we do not have to breathe so much exhaust smoke generated by idling cars waiting for a parking space.
Posted by Jim Campbell, Professor, 06/04/09
Morenia Thomas says:
UB each day makes more and more a UB NON-Believer! This college serve the interest of rich and powerful people. In what moment they called the body of students to vote for this? How they really know our response to it beside one student here and there.
The tuition increase, the lack of professors, substitution of professor by graduate students, packing 500 students in one class, my money going to rehabiliting buildings that are not relevant for my education etc.
I hate this place seriously, and is all the students faults.
Here people work for themselves, the last concern is actually the student.
Posted by Morenia Thomas, Undemocratic!, 06/04/09
Claire Fornarola says:
This is an absolute abomination and completely disregards the rights of students and staff.
I understand that there will always be the inevitable conflict between people who smoke and people who don't, and agree that people who don't deserve the right to a smoke free environment. There are other ways to achieve this that have been seemingly ignored, like designated smoking areas, entrances, etc.
It is possible to encourage a smoke free environment and promote the health and awareness of tobacco dangers without infringing on the basic rights of a human being. Smoking cigarettes isn't illegal and is a personal choice, and telling an entire community of students and staff that you are going to "educate" them about the dangers of smoking by disallowing their right to choice is both paternalistic and archaic (if you honestly believe people don't know about the dangers of smoking by now, you're very much in the dark.) In my opinion it is against university integrity and shows a lack of concern on UB's part for maintaining an environment of academic, intellectual and basic human freedom. I'm quite sure that this will be viewed nationwide as a more ridiculous gesture than an environmentally motivated or humanitarian one.
I would like to see the statistics behind the 15 to 20 % number. This seems grossly underestimated. How did the UB committee decide that "a punitive approach to smoking was not the right way to go" and then manage to come up with a purely punitive solution?
Posted by Claire Fornarola, Student, 06/04/09
Jean Wactawski-Wende, PhD says:
This is terrific! Thanks to all involved who helped to move this important UB health promotion and green policy forward.
Posted by Jean Wactawski-Wende, PhD, Professor and Associate Chair, Social and Preventive Medicine, 06/04/09
Mary Cochrane says:
I'm so proud of UB for taking this important step!
Posted by Mary Cochrane, Editor and Writer, 06/04/09