Cal State Fullerton will be the first Cal State University to ban smoking entirely, starting August 2013.
The university is one of many in the nation that has recently adopted smoke-free laws. CSUF’s new policy will eliminate smoking on all areas of the campus.
According to CSU Spokesman Erik Fallis, many CSUs have passed more stringent smoking laws in recent years.
“About a decade ago, the policy at the CSU has been to give broad discretion to universities regarding smoking,” he said. “CSUF is taking a step beyond other campuses.”
Fifteen of the 23 CSUs have adopted smoking restrictions as of September 2011, Fallis said. Of the 15 universities, three have prepared, or will prepare, legislation to completely ban smoking.
Cal State Long Beach may ban smoking entirely as well.
“We are also testing this idea out,” CSULB President F. King Alexander said. “I think it is a good idea.”
For students who smoke on campus, like sophomore film major Greg Krish, the decision to ban smoking would be “irritating.”
“Physical addiction [to cigarettes] is something that is very real,” Krish said. “Denying smokers the option to smoke between classes will impact their ability to focus and learn in the classroom.”
Many universiteis that have banned smoking, like the University of California system, cited health reasons as a main factor in the decision.
According to the UC website, making all UC campuses smoke-free provides a healthy environment for their students.
Approximately 4.4 percent of college students regularly smoked in 2010, according to the American College Health Association (ACHA). The ACHA also reported that 14.4 percent of college students smoked at least once a month.
As of June 2012, there were 281 college campuses across the nation that prohibited smoking entirely, according to the American Lung Association.
“I support the smoking ban,” Chloee Farris, a sophomore film major, said. “It would protect all the other students from second-hand smoke.”
CSULB’s smoking policy states that smoking is prohibited inside buildings and courtyards, within 20 feet of building entrances, windows and air intakes, and the perimeter of Brotman Hall.
I one hundred percent agree with a smoking ban. The overwhelming majority of students & faculty on campus that do not smoke should not have to be exposed to second hand smoke. There have been many times when students I know, and myself personally, have had to move from a spot where we were studying, which is most definitely within 20 feet of building entrances, due to another student smoking. While they may be ‘irritated’ by such a ban, others are irritated and harmed on a daily basis, between every class and in passing, by their habit.