Changes announced last week to the Smoke-Free Ontario Act will further extinguish smoking in many public places across the province. And while Western smokers won’t see much difference from current restrictions, changes in the law should serve as an opportunity to re-engage the university community in a conversation about smoking on campus, said Ann Hutchison, senior HR adviser.
Starting Jan. 1, it will be illegal to smoke on bar and restaurant patios, playgrounds and public sports fields and surfaces, as well as sell tobacco on university and college campuses.
These steps are part of the government’s plan to limit smoking in public places, reduce exposure to smoking and make it more difficult for young people to buy tobacco, said Dipika Damerla, associate minister of Health and Long-Term Care.
“If we prevent youth from taking up smoking in the first place, that will mean fewer smokers and healthier Ontarians,” Damerla said. “We need to do everything we can to protect all Ontarians from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke.”
On Western’s campus, these changes won’t have a huge impact, said Hutchison, who works on campuswide wellness initiatives including working with Health and Safety on smoking issues. Many of the restrictions are already in place.
For instance, TD Stadium already bans smoking inside. Currently, cigarettes are only sold on campus at the Grad Club.
“We’re already moving along toward that – fewer and fewer places to smoke,” Hutchison said.
Western’s current policy bans smoking in university buildings, as well as within 10 metres of building entrances, loading docks and fresh air intakes. Building entrances, especially those outside the D.B. Weldon Library and Support Services Building, remain the biggest point of contention between smokers and nonsmokers, Hutchison said.
“That means for some folks, they have to walk through an area where the smoke is rather intense,” she continued. “Those points of contact are where 85 per cent of our complaints come from.”
Smoking on university campus has become a battleground in the last decade.
According to the Americans for Nonsmokers Rights, a leading antismoking lobbying organization, nearly 1,500 U.S. universities have gone smoke-free. That number has grown from less than 500 just four years ago. Last week, the University of Alabama, home to 36,000 students, approved a smoke-free campus policy to start Jan. 1.
Major Canadian universities have yet to buy into smoke-free campus policies. The exception, Dalhousie, instituted a smoke-free campus in 2003, the first major university in Canada to implement such a ban. More than 82 per cent of Dalhousie community members who responded to a 2003 survey supported the policy’s adoption.
Western has no plans to consider a smoke-free policy at this time. However, times do change.
“I think Western, and all universities in Canada, may have to consider a smoke-free campus at some point in the future,” Hutchison said. “In the States, some legislative changes have forced U.S. universities to take action – not all the changes are self-driven. But I think that’s where we’re all heading. We’re just a long way from it.
“At Western, specifically, we would need to see how it impacts smokers and nonsmokers alike before we did anything.”
In keeping its policy current, Western has consulted with several U.S. universities.
As a rule, Western does not ‘enforce’ its smoking policy. Unlike parking, for instance, there are no tickets handed out for smoking in the wrong spot.
But, in the end, smoking is a health issue, for all.
“Our goal is a safer, healthier and cleaner work environment,” Hutchison said. “We hope people embrace and respect the rules we have. Simple courtesy. That’s a step we can take as individuals without making new rules.
“The more we respect each other, the less we have to worry about rules.”
Hutchison pointed to programs offered by the university to help members of its community kick the habit. For students, Leave the Pack Behind offers awareness and smoking cessation programs. For faculty and staff, Western pays for smoking cessation programs as part of an employee’s benefits package.