As the hustle and bustle of the semester begins, we’ve noticed that there is a much welcomed change on campus. The most visible aspect of this change is the new signs posted throughout campus that say “breathe easy: tobacco free campus.” The other thing we’ve noticed is that clouds of smoke have diminished and people are no longer seen lighting up.
Tech implemented the no-tobacco policy on Aug. 1, a year ahead of the Arkansas law that recently passed. Starting this policy a year early helps to set an ongoing trend across the nation of a ban on tobacco products in schools.

Other Arkansas schools, such as the University of Arkansas Fayetteville and University of Arkansas Little Rock, already have tobacco-free campuses, and Arkansas Tech is joining their early start of the policy.

For those students and faculty who do smoke, this came as bad news. Many often used breaks in their busy schedules to enjoy a cigarette without the inconvenience of traveling off-campus. But for others, this policy has long been anticipated.

Sure, there was a rule saying one cannot smoke within 25 feet of a building, but several people did not follow it. As we’d walk to the doorway of a building to get to class, we would have to walk through smoke-filled air. And to top it off, people would smoke while walking to class. This was a great way to multi-task for them, as they could both smoke and get to class, but for those people who hate the smell of it or are allergic, it was difficult to avoid.

So with this new tobacco free policy, we hope that enforcement of such a rule will be strict. With the 25-feet rule, people were rarely reprimanded for their actions. Now, Tech has a line of action for both students, employees and visitors, including warnings and $50 fines.

For these disciplines to work, students need to be willing to stand up to offenders and tell them to quit their use of tobacco products on campus. Also, whoever is enforcing the policy needs to actively patrol the campus to make sure that people are following the rule and to actually hand out the punishments. Without a community effort, a policy of this nature would most likely fall through, so it needs to be enforced.

The tobacco free policy is a great addition to the Tech campus. It will create cleaner air and a less distracting environment for those who don’t use tobacco, and it will encourage smokers who want to kick their habit to quit. Tech even offered a smoking cessation class after the policy went into effect that taught participants ways to stop smoking healthily. Overall, we see cloudless skies and cleaner air in our future with the breathe easy policy.