More Campuses Started to Prohibit Smoking

Recently was accepted another measure which would force smokers to light up off university grounds. For example, all tobacco products, including cigarettes, will be banned from the University of Texas at Arlington campus starting with August 1, 2011. The main goal of this legislation is to help students who are interested in ending their smoking habit, reported the UT-Arlington officials.
The campus police department will also be more watchful in enforcing the current policies, which prohibits smoking within 50 feet of any campus building.

In general, UT-Arlington is the first four-year public institution in Texas which wants to implement a ban on smoking, although the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio is now smoke-free. Researchers declared that more than 350 colleges around the country have already adopted the policy. A group of 15 students and staff members investigated the current smoking policies at UT-Arlington and found that almost 61 percent of the school’s students would support a tobacco ban on campus. This committee proposed to make the campus tobacco-free.

University President James Spaniolo declared: "It is time for UT-Arlington to take the next step eager in protecting the health of our campus community." Scientists reported that smoking on Arlington campus is not permitted within 20 feet of any building entryway or ventilation system or inside any building. Smoking is permitted outside as long as waste is specially got out.

UT spokeswoman Rhonda Weldon said she was not conscious of any upcoming modifications to the UT-Austin campus policy, and could not cancel any changes to the policy since she started working at the University in 2001. Some students called the UT-Arlington smoking ban an "absurd idea". "I smoke on campus everyday, and I’ve never had dissatisfaction. It’s my choice, and it should be a primary freedom to smoke outside," explained a student.

University Health Services started to offer a free "Quitters Stop Smoking Class" to all students. The class meets four times per semester and has by this time its final meeting for the fall. UT-Arlington spokeswoman Kristin Sullivan said the lateness time between announcement and the date of realization will give some students a chance to quit. "We want to encourage people to stop using tobacco, and we are giving them time to do that," Sullivan said. So smoking on the UT-Arlington campus will still be admissible in vehicles on campus as long as the windows are shut.