Smoking ban comes into effect

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Camaraderie is built in many ways on college campuses. For some groups it’s celebrated with hands cupped around a coffee mug or playing catch in the Quad. For others it’s smoking cigarettes in Trombley Square or the gazebo. Yet, the days of swapping stories while enjoying a smoke are numbered on the Forest Grove campus.

As of May 31, 2015, the campus will officially become smoke free.

“[We] did not go as far as to saying all tobacco products, campus will just be smoke free,”

said President Lesley Hallick. The policy Pacific decided to enforce does not include chewing

tobacco.
“Members of the university

community felt that chewing tobacco, while still harmful to your health, has harmful effects to the user but not the same secondhand effects to those around them like cigarettes,”

said Health Policy and Services Coordinator Libby Boyes.

This policy was first proposed to the university on May 31, 2013 when the university received an email about the Fresh Air Campus Challenge.

The initiative encourages colleges and universities throughout the Pacific Northwest to develop and implement a smoke- or tobacco-free campus policy. According to the initiative’s website, its goal is to have all campuses in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington be 100 percent smoke- or tobacco-free by 2016.

Currently, the health professions campus in Hillsboro is a tobacco-free zone. Yet, the initiative on the Pacific campus was pushed back to spread awareness of the upcoming ban to students.

Dean of Student Life Will Perkins said the university wanted to make sure all students who are required to live on campus for two years along with incoming and prospective students were aware of the smoke-free campus.

“We are enacting it on World No Tobacco Day,” said Perkins. “It also gives us the summer to see how it goes.”

Temporary signs about the policy can be seen around campus. As for enforcing this rule in the future,

Perkins hopes to create an honor system amongst students, faculty and staff. He said they plan on having cards that students can give to people they see smoking on campus as a warning.

If a student sees the same person not abiding by the smoke free campus policy again, he/she can report the person to Campus Public Safety, the conduct office or Will Perkins. From there the person will be contacted about his/her tobacco use on campus.

“Our hope is that this is a situation where people honor the policy,” said Perkins.

Students, staff and faculty members that are inspired to quit smoking or using tobacco because of this policy, campus resources will be made available to them. For students, the Student Health Center can provide nicotine patches and the counseling center can offer guidance on how to maintain a tobacco-free lifestyle.

“Smoking is really hard to quit,” said Perkins. “It’s great if students talk to someone about it.”

Although the policy eliminates smoking on campus, the sidewalks surrounding campus are city

property, therefore people are allowed to smoke on them.

Boyes explained this policy is important to Pacific because of the values of the university as a whole.

“It provides a healthier environment for students, faculty, staff and visitors,” said Boys.

This policy is consistent with Pacific’s commitment to improve the health and wellness of its community. According to a survey done by Smoke Free Oregon, one- third of students say they are exposed to secondhand smoke on campus every day.

“Our hope is that with this new policy, it will help diminish the exposure of individuals to secondhand smoke and create a healthier atmosphere for the campus,” said Boyes.

As of October 2014, more than 1,400 college and university campuses across the country have implemented tobacco-free or smoke-free policies, Boyes added.

For students who have questions or concerns about the upcoming policy, they are encouraged to email Perkins at wperkins@pacificu.edu.

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