Widener Goes Smoke-Free
No tobacco use allowed indoors or out
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NEW YORK - JUNE 11: A man smokes outside of a building on June 11, 2009 in New York, New York. The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote Thursday on a bill that would give the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate the production, sale, and marketing of tobacco products to protect public health. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
Widener University will be the first area four-year college to go smoke-free, indoors and out, reports the Inquirer.
The smoking ban includes the use of all tobacco products on campus.
The decision to go tobacco-free came about by recommendations of a committee made up of students, faculty and staff who were concerned about health effects of second-hand smoke and increased health insurance costs for smokers and chewers.
To make the July 1 ban an easier transition for faculty and students, the university is offering free smoking-cessation classes as well as nicotine-replacement drugs.
Many local community colleges already have bans on tobacco use on campus, and hundreds of colleges nationwide have done the same, including the Universities of Michigan, Florida and Kentucky, according to the Inquirer.
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