The days of unrestricted tobacco use on OU’s Norman campus are officially numbered after the OU Board of Regents voted unanimously Tuesday to implement a ban this summer.
The campuswide Tobacco-Free Policy was approved as an addition to the Regents’ Policy Manual and designated two areas on campus as acceptable smoking areas while enacting fines for repeat offenders.
The policy is set to take effect July 1.
OU President David Boren proposed the ban to the regents in the Robert M. Bird Library Auditorium on the OU Health Sciences Center campus in Oklahoma City, and during an address before the vote, he said university administrators felt morally obligated to enact it.
“We want to join the leadership of other universities who have chosen to enact these policies,” Boren said.
During his remarks, Boren invited Gary Raskob, College of Public Health Dean and chairman of an advisory tobacco committee who helped Boren formulate the policy, to address the regents as well.
Raskob believed the final recommendations took into effect student, faculty and staff feedback while positively impacting campuswide health, he said.
“The proposal strikes a balance between protecting people from second-hand smoke, while acknowledging the difficulty of quitting,” Raskob said.
Boren is optimistic the policy will overcome difficulties encountered when enforcing a statewide ban already in place, restricting smoking within 25 feet of building entrances, he said.
“I think [we encountered difficulties] because we had no set policy and never publicized a program to help people quit smoking,” Boren said. “We’ve had a program, but it hasn’t been highly advertised.”
OU Police Department officers will be tasked with enforcing the new policy, Boren said.
OUPD officials have been in contact with university administrators regarding enforcement, but the department declined to comment as of press time, OUPD Lt. Bruce Chan said.
“The Chief of the OUPD does communicate with the senior administration of the University; however, it is not appropriate for us to comment on the content of that communication,” Chan said.
After the regents’ meeting adjourned, Boren said it is not OU administrators’ place to tell people they cannot smoke at all, but they are authorized to restrict smoking on campus.
“We’re not saying people can’t smoke,” Boren said. “They can go home and smoke, they can smoke in their cars, so I don’t think we’re stopping the liberty of people to smoke.”
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simp9830 3 months, 4 weeks ago
One more personal freedom goes down the drain.......
toxicbutts 3 months, 4 weeks ago
Aside from people's right not to be exposed to second-hand smoke (while smoking is not a legally protected right), cigarette butts are consistently the #1 collected item in school cleanups. 360 billion are dropped/flicked out into the environment in the U.S. every year. And they're really toxic. Just one cigarette butt kills aquatic life. They meet the scientific definition of toxic waste. This doesn't seem to be a case of infringing on personal liberties. It seems to be a cut-and-dry case of reacting to hard data. For more info: www.toxicbutts.com>
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kdbp1213 3 months, 4 weeks ago
in the united nanny states of america, big brother making another decision for us....... and i'm an adament non-smoker..........................
bashorney1 3 months, 3 weeks ago
I'm kind of puzzled why more details of this 'ban' have not been made public. It's not like they haven't had plenty of time to work them out.
Does the ban include OU football tailgating parties? Are violators going to jail? Are electronic cigarettes banned also? (if so this ban is definitely Stalinist since e-cigs have no butts and the 'exhaust' is water vapor)
NoNews 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Your so called personal freedom of smoking is inflicting harm on other individuals' freedoms of being healthy. A clear violation of another persons rights and therefore should be banned. Seeing some of these people's comments above show the lack of common sense and brain cells among OU students. The ban has been made public, stay on top of your current events. Obviously it does not include e-cigs that would be completely ridiculous. I personally love the comment on how the United States of America gets bashed, and this ban is simply for the OU Campus. Smart comment. People with your IQ need a big brother to make sure you do not walk into oncoming traffic.
baconbits 3 months, 3 weeks ago
Second hand smoke is not dangerous outdoors. The amount of smoke inhaled on this campus is negligible to your health. Secondhand smoke doesn't really become a major issue until you are in an enclosed space, such as a car or your house. The exact places Boren suggests smoking.