Two University of New Haven campuses are going smoke-free effective next month and Southern Connecticut State University is going tobacco-free in August.
UNH will prohibit smoking on its West Haven and Orange campuses starting June 1.The tobacco ban at SCSU, which will prohibit smoking, e-cigarettes, and tobacco use outside and inside, starts Aug. 25, according to SCSU President Mary A. Papazian.
“We have a policy that represents the best ideas from many in our campus community -- a policy that will help to ensure that Southern’s campus has a healthy environment in which to live, work and learn for our students, faculty and staff,” Papazian said. “It reflects our mission to foster a safe, healthy and respectful environment on campus.”
The university formed a Tobacco-Free Subcommittee after receiving a letter from U.S. Sen. Christopher Murphy (D-Connecticut) encouraging the school to join the national Tobacco-Free College Campus Initiative launched by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2012.
"Tobacco is the number one preventable cause of death in the United States with cigarette smoking causing more than 480,000 deaths annually, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)," SCSU said in a press release.
At a kick-off ceremony for the UNH initiative, cake will be served and there will also be a cigarette-shaped piñata.
More than 1,000 colleges nationwide are smoke-free.
