University of North Alabama to change campus smoking policy

As someone who has smoked for 14 years, Chris Lazo knows some people consider his habit offensive.

"I'm addicted," he said, standing outside Bibb Graves Hall on the University of North Alabama campus. "I don't smoke to make friends or be social. I smoke because I'm addicted to it."

Where Lazo smokes on campus could change in the coming months as UNA officials revamp the university's smoking policy. It's a process that's already under way, according to David Shields, vice president for student affairs. He said the enhanced policy could take effect as early as this fall.

Smoking is prohibited inside all university buildings, and Shields said the new policy would designate smoking areas that would be a certain distance from building entrances. It also would add resources, such as smoking cessation programs for students who want to break their habit.

"With the revisions, we plan to make it a stronger policy," Shields said.

"Anecdotally, we're seeing some increases in our incidence of smokers, especially among young women."

Studies among college students who use tobacco show that between one-third to one-half of the population nationwide smokes, even if infrequently. Although male smokers outnumber female smokers, according to the findings, the number of women between the ages of 18 and 24 who smoke is rising.

Increased marketing by tobacco companies, as well as peer pressure and a sense of freedom from parental control, are among the reasons Cindy Wood believes the numbers to be rising.

As the director of University Health Services, Wood said Bennett Infirmary often is busiest Monday mornings with students complaining of sinus or asthma issues brought on by smoking cigarettes during the weekends.

"From a medical standpoint, it's a problem if even one person smokes," she said. "Although I don't have the data to support the theory, based on what I see in the clinic, it's more and more among young women. I hear the term 'social smoker,' which is the idea that, if they only smoke on weekends or when they drink (alcohol), they're not really smokers."

Medically, Wood said a casual smoker can become a two-pack-a-day smoker if the genes for addiction are present. Young women who take birth control medication put themselves at an increased risk of stroke and blood clots if they smoke, she said.

April Curry, a senior at UNA, said she spent some of her early college years as a social smoker.

"I went to a nonsmoking school in Georgia for a couple of years," she said. "But I'd go out with friends, and I might smoke."

Curry said cigarettes provided a sort of stress relief for her, but it's a habit she has since given up. Although the new policy won't affect her, it will affect those such as Lazo who light up between classes.

"I might not go through a pack a day, but you're going to find me smoking after each class," he said.

"Now, if it were to go nonsmoking, I wouldn't be in favor of that. I believe that's bias and discrimination against smokers."

Shields said UNA isn't contemplating a smoke-free campus, but part of the problem continues to be cleaning up the cigarette butts that get tossed once the tobacco is smoked, he said.

"We have containers all over campus, and I'll see someone flick it on the ground when the container is an arm's length away," he said. "It's a problem."

Michael Gautney, director of facilities, administration and planning, said it is the job of two groundskeepers each morning to clear the campus of cigarette butts.

"The majority of our problems are around congregational areas, including the residence halls and the Guillot University Center," he said. "It's not a large percentage of our garbage, but it is a lot."

Gautney said cigarette butts that aren't disposed of properly also pose a safety hazard. In the past year, he said there have been two grass fires on campus as a result of cigarettes.

"Even with a new policy, it will create other issues," Gautney said. "If we say they can smoke 30 feet from an entrance, that could put them at a fresh air intake unit that would send all the smoke into the building."

Shields said these and other issues, including how to enforce the new policy, are being hashed out, and violations are bound to happen.

"But what we won't tolerate is smoking in the dorms," he said. "I don't have a lot of patience or tolerance for putting others at risk like that."