State steps up tobacco ban

Oregon is stepping up its campaign against tobacco on several fronts, but one place not following suit is Linn-Benton Community College. In Corvallis, Oregon State University announced Wednesday that it will ban smoking all over the campus starting Sept. 1 “to protect health interests of the campus community.” And the Oregon Health Authority says on its website that Gov. John Kitzhaber has ordered a complete ban of any tobacco use on all state properties, with the first phase taking effect Jan. 1, 2013.

 Smoking already is banned in Oregon workplaces and outdoors within 10 feet of any door or window. OSU said it would hold a public forum on its expanded ban from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15, at the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library. The university also said its ban would be enforced by the campus police, with emphasis on “education and remediation.” But it said that in case of “egregious” violations, students could face punishment under the student conduct code and employees may be disciplined under OSU employment policies.

 Di Saunders, a spokeswoman for the Oregon University System, wasn’t sure how the OSU ban compared to no-smoking policies on other campuses. “All campuses have no smoking within facilities, and others have a total ban on property or 50 feet from buildings or some variation on that,” she emailed. The smoking ban on state properties publicized by the Health Authority — which also covers smokeless tobacco and even electronic cigarettes — presumably would cover the universities regardless of their own rules.

 The statewide ban on all state property is to be phased in, starting on Jan. 1 on all wholly owned state properties. “Shared properties” have until July 1, 2013, and Department of Corrections and Youth Authority properties have until the end of 2014 to carry out the ban. At Linn-Benton Community College in Albany, however, officials have considered a complete smoking ban but decided against it, said Jim Huckestein, vice president of finance and operations. He said the community college continues to have outdoor smoking shelters on the edges of the campus.