UH will officially be a tobacco-free campus effective Aug. 17, after designated smoking areas on campus are eliminated.

The use of tobacco products on campus has also been banned, according to an email sent out on Friday.

“In order for this policy to be effective, we need the courtesy, respect and cooperation of all University community members,” Floyd Robinson, chair of the UH Tobacco Task Force, said in the email.

The University defines tobacco products as cigarettes, cigars, pipes, hookah, bidids, kreteks, electronic cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. Chewing tobacco and any nicotine that is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration is also banned.

The move comes after the University scaled back on tobacco use in 2013 after becoming a tobacco-free school by limiting the number of smoking areas around campus, with the need for smoking areas being reviewed annually.

The policy applies to anyone who is on University property and violation can be reported through a portal on the Tobacco Task Force’s website.

“As a Tier One research institution, the University considers public health to be vital to our core mission,” Robinson said in the email. “We recognize our social responsibility to promote the health, well-being and safety of UH students, faculty, staff and visitors.”

news@thedailycougar.com

—
“Tobacco products, smoking areas banned from campus” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar