LIT campus implements tobacco ban

All of Lamar Institute of Technology's campuses are now smoke-free. A ban on the use of all tobacco products in buildings and on all campuses took effect Jan.1.

The ban originated from a mandate by The Texas State University System, Beth Miller, LIT director of public information and marketing, said.

"TSUS has mandated that all of its colleges and universities should have a tobacco-free policy in place by June," she said. "So, Dr. Szuch (LIT president) thought that we needed to get a jump on it."

Miller said that with any new policy it takes time to get people used to it. By starting it in January, everyone on campus should be aware of the ban by the time the TSUS mandate comes into effect in June.

"We have signage on all of our doors that say ‘tobacco-free campus, tobacco-free area,'" Miller said. "That means no spitting, no smoking, anything — and that is for all of our campuses.

"Anywhere that is LIT property, you can not smoke."

The policy is not just for students. Miller said that all faculty, staff, vendors and maintenance workers must also adhere to the policy.

"It is a blanket ‘no tobacco use' policy," she said.

The purpose for the tobacco ban is to provide students with a healthy environment, Miller said, adding that LIT and TSUS are not demanding that people quit smoking — it is their choice to smoke — they just don't want them to do so on campus.

Miller said not using tobacco products during ‘office hours' is probably a good habit anyway when entering the workforce because many jobs do not provide smoke breaks.

"It is a good habit to limit (smoking) around your professional or academic life," she said.

LIT has also hosted tobacco-free fairs on campus that included stop smoking support programs and aims to hold more in the future.

So far, Miller said she has only received positive feedback about the ban.

For more information, visit www.lit.edu.