In Jan. 2012, USF St. Petersburg will be the first entire USF institution to go tobacco-free. The new campus-wide tobacco and smoking ban is a result of ongoing efforts by faculty and staff to create a healthier campus.
Other Florida colleges have previously followed suit. In Nov. 2009, the USF Tampa College of Public Health went tobacco-free. The University of Florida went tobacco-free in June 2010 and most recently, Florida Atlantic University in Jan. 2011
The USFSP tobacco-free task force began in 2007 as a grassroots effort to limit smoking on campus, said Sandi Conway, human resources director and member of the committee. As efforts continued over the years, Conway said the group eventually voted to move in the direction of a smoke-free campus.
“With the advent of USF Tampa’s College of Public Health going smoke-free, it made sense to push for a smoke-free campus here at USF St. Petersburg,” Conway said. The policy was voted on this spring.
The boundaries of the ban encompass the USF St. Petersburg campus proper. The College of Marine Sciences reports to the provost in Tampa and is not part of the ban. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, a state agency, is also not included in the ban.
Conway said the longer implementation of the policy allowed for a better transition time for faculty, staff and students. The creation of smoking cessation workshops, online notices and bulletin board signage around campus gives the USFSP community a chance to shift from the fall 2011 semester into January without a surprise, giving “a lot of time to process,” she said.
The ban falls under the broad umbrella of the Florida Clean Indoor Air Act, a state law that prohibits smoking in enclosed indoor workplaces, she said. The Department of Health describes indoor areas to include “uncovered openings; screened or otherwise partially covered openings; or open or closed windows, jalousies, doors, or the like.” This specifically relates to public and private workplaces, public libraries and educational facilities.
The tobacco ban is a policy, not a law, and enforcement seems unclear.
“What the university hopes will happen is peer pressure,” Conway said. “If someone is smoking, a student might remind the person that smoking is banned on campus and hopefully, they will put out their cigarette. It would be like an honor system.”
Conway understands not everyone will agree with the new policy and anticipates some might rebel against the ban and smoke anyway.
“I don’t think anyone wants to strong-arm anyone,” she said. “There are ways to meet the expectations that can work for everyone. If you want to have a cup of coffee and smoke a cigarette, you can do so at the Tavern or The Grind.”
Both business entities are privately owned and do not fall under the campus-wide smoking policy. Tavern owner Tom Herzhauser said he was initially approached by the university to go smoke-free. Although Herzhauser considered it, he said a good portion of his business is not university-based and he declined.
Despite the fact that the Tavern will continue to allow smoking after the ban passes, Herzhauser doesn’t foresee a dramatic increase in business. He said most people come to the Tavern to sit, listen to music and have a good time.
“I am not a proponent of smoking,” Herzhauser, a non-smoker, said. “But drinking and smoking go hand in hand.”
Photo illustration by Christopher Dorsey and Daniel Mutter
