Tobacco-free campus a possibility

Despite the warning signs plastered near the library’s entrance, whiffs of cigarette smoke still linger in the air. Those aromas, along with every other trace of tobacco, could eventually disappear from campus. The Student Health Center is now taking a stance in favor of making the University a tobacco-free campus, said Kathy Saichuk, Health Promotion Coordinator for the center. After remaining quiet about the smoking policy, the health center will now collaborate with other administrators, students, faculty and staff.

“I’d like to do it if we could, but it has to be carefully thought through,” said Interim Chancellor William Jenkins. Other colleges in the state like Louisiana Delta Community College, the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, Nicholls State University, Southern University and Tulane University are already tobacco-free campuses. More than 700 campuses are smoke-free and 500 campuses are tobacco-free in the United States.

Tammy Millican, communication and grants manager for the Office of Facility Services, said the University follows city and state policies regarding smoking. The Baton Rouge Code of Ordinances states that smoking is prohibited within 25 feet of the entrance or exit of any public building or facility. The change could affect students, faculty and visitors on campus. Students and professors would be forced to leave campus to smoke, and game days would be tobacco-free as well.