Many colleges are going smoke-free across the U.S., bringing the number from 586 in 2011 to 1,477 100 percent smoke-free campuses as of Oct. 2014, according to Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR).

Though many of these policies are implemented on the student body, several campuses have been alerted to the issue by students themselves. AACC is one of those campuses.

The smoking policy was brought forward, created, and pursued by the students of AACC through the Students Association. Beginning last year, the smoking policy has been developed with additions and contributions from
students.

“Students had come up and told us that while they were walking through these buildings there were people smoking and it would constantly come into your face,” said AACC Student Association President Chris Pineda. “Some of these people were allergic to it or had asthma.”

Pineda and the Student Association brought the proposed idea to the president, and conducted surveys throughout campus asking how people felt about a no smoking policy on campus. They received feedback from faculty, staff, and students, with the majority agreeing that the no smoking policy could be beneficial.
“We really believe this is what the students want,” said AACC President, Dawn Lindsay. Lindsay emphasized the importance of an educational institution “keeping people healthy and promoting healthier lifestyles.”

“We’re actually late on the curve to make this happen,” said Lindsay. Colleges across the U.S. have been implementing no smoking policies since 2009. Of the approximately 4,599 colleges across the country, 1,477 have implemented 100% smoke free policies on their campuses.

AACC’s current smoking policy was implemented for the 2012-2013 school year, prohibiting “smoking in any indoor campus location and within 25 feet of all entranceways to college buildings.” Though there are designated smoking areas, such as outside the cafeteria and the gazebo in the quad, smoking spreads throughout campus.

“Smokers follow the ashtray,” said AACC student Dan Jones. “Put an ashtray anywhere with a couple benches and we’ll sit, talk, and smoke. That’s what we do.” Ashtrays can be found all around campus and seem to encourage smoking in all areas.

Though many students are irritated by smoke throughout campus, they said that they wouldn’t mind compromising. Smoke in their faces is hazardous and frustrating, but if there were specific areas for smoking and the rest of the campus was smoke-free, they would be satisfied.

Smokers and non-smokers alike agree that this would be an acceptable compromise, but the policy removes smoking from the campus completely. The policy would eliminate the use of any tobacco product, as well as the use of ecigarettes. These actions could not be performed anywhere on campus, including the parking lots.

Several different methods of enforcement have been established, from fines to marks on a students’ record, to faculty being fired. Awaiting approval for the policy, AACC has not established a defined way they will enforce the policy, though Campus Police will be handling that situation.

The policy must pass the board in January and if successful, will begin implementation in the Spring 2015 semester. The policy will gradually become more strict, giving students opportunities to quit smoking.

AACC will be providing assistance through Health Services, by offering classes, hotlines, etc. to aid the transition.