University of Louisville provost Shirley Willihnganz announced on Friday that the school’s Belknap Campus and all UofL-owned or controlled properties on Shelby Campus will become smoke free on November 19, the date of the annual Great American Smokeout.
The UofL Health Sciences Center has been smoke free since January 2008.
There will be a grace period between November 19 and June 1 on Belknap and Shelby campuses. Smokers will be allowed to smoke in designated areas until June 1.
Enforcement of the smoke-free policy at the Health Sciences Center campus will take effect November 19 because employees on that campus have had plenty of notice.
With this policy change, UofL becomes part of an accelerating trend across the United States. As of August 2009, over 170 colleges and universities had instituted tobacco-free campus policies, up from around 140 a year earlier.
The American Cancer Society maintains a Smoke Free Campus Initiative to help colleges and universities initiate such programs.
Comments