TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
Six years ago, the campus adopted a policy for a smoke-free environment. The basic tenets of the policy are that smoking is prohibited in all non-residential indoor areas, university-owned vehicles, and in the areas outside buildings near doors, windows, and air intakes (including patios underneath building windows). The policy also states that outside areas near a building may be designated as smoking areas provided that smoke will not enter the building, it is not a thoroughfare for nonsmokers, and there are ashcans available for cigarette disposal.
Although the policy has been in effect for seven years, current compliance with the regulations is sporadic. Students, especially, are either unaware of the policy or not interested in abiding by it. Since smoking in the student population has increased dramatically in the past decade, this lack of compliance has resulted in a great deal of second-hand smoke surrounding (and entering) building doors, windows, and air intake vents. Contact with this smoke can be an irritant to many, but poses a serious health hazard for some, especially those with allergies, asthma, and other pulmonary or immune system disorders. Many non-smokers are increasingly frustrated, not only by smokers ignoring the policy, but also by the lack of enforcement. Smokers, on the other hand, report being harassed by non-smokers for smoking in outside areas.
Based on the recommendations of the Smoking Task Force (convened in the Spring of 1996), the campus is making a concerted effort to reduce second-hand smoke entering buildings. A campuswide signage program will be implemented over the next few weeks. The signs will read "No smoking within 25 feet of doors, windows, and air intakes." In addition to signage, the smoking policy is being publicized to students in a variety of ways, and the campus' Alcohol and Other Drug Committee has been encouraged to target smoking in their outreach efforts for as long as smoking remains high among the student population.
A common complaint among non-smokers is that there is no enforcement mechanism in place. The current policy states that implementation of the policy is "the responsibility of every student, faculty member, staff person, and visitor on campus." If smoking areas are clearly marked, and the regulations of the smoking policy are widely publicized, non-compliance with the policy should decrease. Individuals can ask those who are smoking in non-smoking areas if they are aware of the policy and/or that they are in a smoke-free area; in fact, this should be the "first line" of enforcement. If the smoker continues to disregard the policy, the appropriate building coordinator (or other designated staff member) should be contacted. As a final resort for those who refuse to abide by the policy, the UCSC police should be called. While this could be a poor use of our police department if overused, UCSC police do respond to infractions of university policy (e.g. use of facilities after hours).
A second complaint often heard is that ashtrays need to be removed from areas near doorways, since they are seen as "permission" to smoke. Unfortunately, removing ashtrays merely results in additional cigarette butts on the ground; most UCSC groundskeepers already spend an average of one hour each day picking up cigarette butts. If the installation of "No Smoking" signs does not prove effective in reducing smoking near doorways, the addition of signs on ashtrays may be necessary. (These signs would read "There is no smoking in this area; please extinguish cigarettes.")
It is hoped that these efforts will have the following results: everyone will know where smoking is allowed, smokers can smoke there without being harassed, and non-smokers will know that they can, with few exceptions, avoid contact with second-hand smoke if they so choose. Your cooperation is critical to making the smoke-free policy a success. More information about the campus smoking policy can be found at http://www2.ucsc.edu/smoking.
Susan Willats
ADA Compliance Officer for
Facilities, Transportation, and Computing Access
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Last modified October 23, 2003
Buddy Morris, Director, Environmental Health and Safety, UC Santa Cruz, bmorris@ucsc.edu.