UH will officially be a tobacco-free campus effective Aug. 17, after designated smoking areas on campus are eliminated.
The use of tobacco products on campus has also been banned, according to an email sent out on Friday.
“In order for this policy to be effective, we need the courtesy, respect and cooperation of all University community members,” Floyd Robinson, chair of the UH Tobacco Task Force, said in the email.
The University defines tobacco products as cigarettes, cigars, pipes, hookah, bidids, kreteks, electronic cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. Chewing tobacco and any nicotine that is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration is also banned.
The move comes after the University scaled back on tobacco use in 2013 after becoming a tobacco-free school by limiting the number of smoking areas around campus, with the need for smoking areas being reviewed annually.
The policy applies to anyone who is on University property and violation can be reported through a portal on the Tobacco Task Force’s website.
“As a Tier One research institution, the University considers public health to be vital to our core mission,” Robinson said in the email. “We recognize our social responsibility to promote the health, well-being and safety of UH students, faculty, staff and visitors.”
Fascists
Just to be clear… This is about $$$. Many grants that the university is trying to get require that the facilities be tobacco free.
This “ban” will be widely ineffective if this is the same task force that enforced people smoking in the designated smoking spots of yore. Unless UHPD is enforcing the ban this is more akin to a suggestion than actual policy.
First of all, people will still smoke on campus. And this “ban” is unhealthy because some students smoke to decrease stress from school. Stress kills, gives anxiety, and mental health issues. And sure,students should just pop pills and drink instead of smoking because that’s allowed right? Ridiculous.
“In February, UH submitted a grant application to CPRIT requesting $150,000 over two years to cover the cost of providing smoking cessation services to students, which would include anything from therapy to providing nicotine patches. CPRIT is expected to respond to this application before the end of June.”
can you read or nah? trying to pass banning smoking as unhealthy is outrageously dumb; i hope you aren’t enrolled here.
Good, about time.