Gateway

Issue date: 6/17/08 Section: News

The Cardiac Center at Creighton has led the way for the entire campus, having become smoke-free about two years ago. (Valerie Loseke) [Click to enlarge]

Creighton students, faculty and staff wanting to grab a quick smoke between classes will have a difficult choice to make starting next month: go without or leave campus.

Starting July 1, Creighton University will go tobacco-free, completely banning tobacco use from all university facilities and property. The only exception will be university-approved research involving tobacco use.

Director of Public Relations Deb Daley said The Cardiac Center at Creighton University had gone smoke free with "a positive experience." Between the known health risks and the recent passage of the Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act, LB 395, Daley said the university made up its mind to transition to a tobacco-free environment.

"It's going very well," said Syed Mohiuddin, the chairman of the university's Tobacco-Free Task Force. "About two, two and half years ago, I proposed to Father Schlegel we ought to have the entire campus be tobacco free. We did have the existing policies which made the inside the buildings smoke free, but outside the buildings people were allowed to smoke, and I thought it would be better for the health of everybody."

Rev. John Schlegel, Creighton's president, announced in November that Mohiuddin would lead a group of students, faculty and representatives of different sections and facilities to develop and implement a university-wide tobacco policy, Daley said.

Daley said the university wanted a lot of time to make the transition, and initially the policy will focus on informing campus community members of the new rules and support services available, including a Commit to Quit program free for faculty. Special events and a Web site for students are also planned.

"I think we had an anticipation that a lot of staff would be really negative toward this but we actually found quite the opposite," Daley said.

Student had concerns about the ban focused on enforcement, which has been the crux of debate in UNO's Student Senate regarding support for a similar ban. Mohiuddin said some groups wanted strict rules from the beginning while others wanted more time for education.

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