On Monday, April 22, 2013, UCLA officially became the first tobacco-free UC campus. What greater day to launch this new policy than on Earth Day? Although parts of the campus, such as the Health Sciences campuses and hospitals, have been smoke-free for over a year, it is now time to implement this policy to the entire school. Hopefully a smoke-free environment will stop students from 1) continuing bad habits, or 2) starting to smoke in the future. The main goal of the policy is to help students quit, however. And, what’s great about the policy is it’s not centered around police presence; it’s focused on health education and support for the smoking community.
This inconvenience should provide those who want quit with an easier way to go about doing so, as anyone who wants to light up has to leave UCLA property. Out of UCLA’s over 72,000 students, this policy really should not affect the majority of our campus population. For those of us who aren’t smokers or tobacco users, we don’t have to put up with the wafts of smoke in our faces while walking to class or hanging out on campus. In the end, this policy is going to improve the overall feel of UCLA’s campus and the health of our students and faculty. Hooray for a smoke-free environment!
Sources: http://www.uclahealth.org/site…