Smoking will no longer be allowed on the University of North Florida’s campus starting this fall.
Michael Hines, the health education coordinator for the university’s Department of Health Promotion, says most universities are already smoke free.
“We’ve had a lot of students complain about having to walk through billows of smoke coming out of class or walking to the parking garages or under the breezeways,” Hines said. “So, I think it’s really going to be beneficial.”
The ban includes parking lots and garages, residential buildings and recreational facilities. And there will be no designated smoking areas.
E-cigarettes will be allowed, but only outdoors.
“We just kind of tried to really reiterate that we’re not tell people that you can’t smoke,” Hines said. “What you do in your private time is what you do in your private time. We’re just saying as a campus, you can’t smoke here.”
There’s no enforcement policy. It will be left up to students and faculty to self police.
The initiative goes into effect on August 1 and classes start on August 24.
