Update on UNT Smoking Ban

[Harry]

Though specific details of the UNT campus smoking ban set to go into effect in January 2013 are still being worked out, President V. Lane Rawlins hopes to have a draft of the smoke-free policy circulating by the fall.

UNT will join more than 700 universities around the U.S. that have banned smoking on campus, including the University of Texas and Texas State.

“This will make the campus safer,” Rawlins said. “I am sympathetic with those who are smokers and this is not intended to ostracize them.”

In February, the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas announced a new policy for schools eligible to receive funds, calling for tobacco-free zones around university research buildings. UNT receives about $200,000 a year from the Institute for prostate cancer research in the Life Sciences Complex.

The smoking ban gained momentum following university research into the adverse health effects of secondhand smoke and a survey of students and faculty conducted by University Relations Communication and Marketing.

Read more: http://www.pegasusnews.com/news/2012/may/25/more-details-unt-smoking-ban-released/