Texas Woman's University (TMU) Board of Regents has directed the officials to develop anti-tobacco policies at its Denton and Dallas campuses banning all tobacco products, starting this fall.
The Faculty Senate, Student Government Association and Staff Council proposed to the regents about making TWU a smoke-free campus after a survey revealed that more than 400 employees favoured quitting smoking in the campuses.
"The emphasis is, from all of the respondents who want us to move in this direction, that we are a predominantly health science-directed institution, and therefore we should lead the way in healthy environments," said Brenda Floyd, vice president for finance and administration.
Two years ago, the campuses in Denton and Dallas implemented a partial smoking ban by designating specific smoking areas, only to be disregarded by the majority.
Floyd said that the previous policy as well as the new policy will be self-enforced, "So, Faculty Senate and the student government have brought forward a resolution to make it totally smoke-free, and we ultimately decided to make it tobacco-free, meaning smokeless tobacco as well," she said.
"The number of student smokers is very low, and students through both official and unofficial channels have been asking for us to be smoke-free," Richard Nicholas, vice president for student life said. "I don't really expect any real change, and it is what they want."
The anti-tobacco policy has already been implemented in the Houston campus due to a Houston city ordinance and policies for the Denton and Dallas campuses are almost complete. The policies will be passed on to the Chancellor Ann Stuart for approval before being introduced for the fall semester.
Apart from Texas, Cleveland State University , Illinois' state funded schools, University of California campuses, University of North Texas and Husson University have prohibited the use of tobacco on campus.
