After helping Ohio University become a tobacco-free campus in August 2015, the Tobacco-Free Task Force is looking to create a policy to prevent smoking on campus.
The policy would eliminate the use of tobacco on campus and treat violating it the same way another policy violation is treated. Ann Addington, assistant director of health promotion, said there could be repercussions if a student, faculty member or staff member violates the policy, but the specific consequences still have to be determined.
She said the policy would make using tobacco a Code of Conduct violation, and those found to have violated the policy may receive a warning first.
“The whole initiative and policy is being framed from a wellness perspective, (but) it will be treated like any other policy,” Addington said. “If people violate policies, there can be repercussions.”
Addington said the policy is not meant to be punitive, but it instead is supposed to help make the campus healthier.
Geonavin Hernandez, a freshman studying political science and someone who has smoked on campus, said he knows OU is a tobacco-free campus. He said he thinks the university is trying to create a healthier and cleaner campus.
“When I choose to smoke, I come out (to South Green) at night,” Hernandez said. “I try not to disrespect people’s personal space. I know it can get to them, but I feel like, as an adult, I should be able to decide when and where I smoke.”
The initiative has student ambassadors who help remind students who are smoking that OU is a tobacco-free campus. Students still volunteer to be ambassadors, but many students use it as an opportunity to earn community restitution hours.
“They would go around campus and spend however many hours they spend out, and then they have to do an online report of how many people they saw and how many people they went up to," Addington said.
Reports from the ambassadors help the task force gauge how many people are still using tobacco on campus and when and where they are doing it, Addington said.
In addition to making a policy, the Tobacco-Free Task Force has been pushing to have permanent signs in places on campus to remind students they should not be using tobacco.
Genna Heileman said she becomes upset when she is walking behind someone who is smoking on campus, and she receives a “face full of smoke.”
She knows Ohio University has a tobacco-free campus, but she doesn’t know any of the specifics of it. She says she still sees people smoking on campus.
“There’s a lot of people who have asthma and stuff and shouldn’t be around smoke,” Heileman, a freshman studying special education, said. “People shouldn’t just be smoking everywhere.”
As far as resources go, students are still able to take tobacco-cessation classes for free. Addington said she has had anywhere between one and 15 students show up for those classes. She also will meet individually with people if they want to schedule an appointment.
“We usually get more people signing up for the class than showing up for the class, and that’s the nature of the beast,” she said. “It’s an addiction. Most people who have addictions don’t want to have those addictions, but it may not be the thing for them the day the class starts.”
Addington said the process is long, but the task force is making progress.
“It’s not a change that’s going to happen overnight, but it does happen. We are seeing a reduction in smoking,” she said.
