Smoking will be snuffed at the University of Denver starting Jan. 1, chancellor Robert Coombe said today.
Coombe said the decision was based on a recommendation by DU’s Tobacco Task Force, headed by Sam Alexander, executive director of University Health Services.
The task force has been studying the issue for more than a year. It originally recommended a complete ban on the use or possession of all tobacco products on campus.
“In considering the proposed full tobacco ban, it is important to note that while the university has rules and regulations governing the conduct of its students, faculty and staff and policies in keeping with current law, it does not regulate legal personal choice unless such choice has a deleterious effect on the community as a whole,” Coombe said.
Citing data that suggest secondhand smoke can have adverse health effects within a distance of 25 feet, Coombe said that tobacco smoking is a clear public-health issue.
Smoking still will be allowed in an area 25 feet from public perimeter rights-of-way and in designated smoking areas outside the Newman Center for Performing Arts and the Ritchie Center for Sports and Wellness during certain public events.
The current policy bans smoking in all university buildings and outside buildings within 25 feet of entrances and exits.
In Colorado, several campuses are, or soon will be, “tobacco free,” according to the Denver Alliance on Tobacco and Health. The Denver School of Nursing and Colorado Christian College are smoke-free. Colorado Mountain College’s Summit campus in Dillon and the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora are planning to go smoke-free this summer or fall.
According to the American Nonsmokers Rights Foundation, as of April 20, there were 305 campuses that are 100 percent smoke-free, with no exceptions.
There are another 49 campuses that are 100 percent smoke-free “with minor exemptions for remote outdoor areas.”
There are 855 campuses, which include the two categories above, where all residential housing units owned by the university or college are smoke-free. In Colorado, they include Adams State College, Colorado College, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado State University, Fort Lewis College, Mesa State College, Naropa University, Northeastern Junior College, Regis University, University of Colorado-Boulder, University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, University of Northern Colorado, Western State College of Colorado and the seven campuses of the Colorado Mountain College system.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
