Tobacco-Free Campus Going up in Smoke

At the start of last fall, Texas State University initiated a new policy prohibiting the use of tobacco products on its campus. The decision was confirmed by a statement from President Dr. Denise Trauth last April after much student feedback on the issue.

According to Dr. Trauth, the decision to go smoke-free originated from scientific evidence suggesting harmful effects and health risks from tobacco use. This decision was supported by a majority of students and staff based on a survey conducted in 2010. More than 2500 people responded to the survey, with 67 percent of the student body and 75 percent of the faculty and staff favoring a smoke-free campus.

Texas State University went forward with this information and became one of the largest public institutions to prohibit tobacco products on its campus. But recent feedback has caused some to question whether the ban was too ambitious of a feat for the university.

Ashley Moran, a freshman studying chemistry, smokes to relieve stress and does not believe that the smoking-ban will have an impact on the university. She discredits the ban as pointless because many students do not comply with it.

Indeed, many students seem to have not taken notice to the ban and continue to smoke around and behind buildings.

When asked what the university could do to better enforce the prohibition, Moran said “Nothing. It’s such a big campus that it would be hard to enforce it and it would be really expensive to also.”

As of last fall, Texas State University had more than 32,000 students enrolled in classes.

Ishmael Johnson, a sophomore studying journalism, thinks that the ban can be better enforced if university police increase their patrol around and behind buildings. According to him, the community enforcement expectation in the policy statement is not enough to enforce the smoking-ban because people are apprehensive about confronting their peers.

“I think it has raised more problems and a complete ban wasn’t the correct way to go about the smoking situation,” Ishmael said. “Instead of less smokers there is more cigarette butts on the ground.”

But there are those who are more optimistic about the ban. Danielle Blackburn, a freshman studying political science, thinks that over time the student body will get used to the smoke-free campus and comply with less restraint.

The issue boils down to a tobacco prohibition with a feeble bite. The first part of the compliance section in the policy statement reads as follows; “The university expects that all Texas State community members and others who use tobacco products will voluntarily comply with this policy’s spirit and intent.”

The university has taken several steps to wean students off of tobacco by providing a free smoking cessation program for students via the Student Health Center. Faculty and staff can access this program for $10.