TORONTO (CUP) — Smokers at York University-even those used to smoking in sheltered areas, including out-of-the-way stairwells-may find themselves out in the cold if the school continues with plans to make the campus smoke-free.
The university has come under fire in the past year for not doing enough to stop people from smoking indoors.
Last winter, smoking in inappropriate places was brought to a student issues roundtable, where different approaches were considered, from bringing in public health officers to introducing a smoking cessation program.
“The security thinks they’re doing a good job keeping the colonnades clear of smoke. I think I would disagree with that,” said Susan Gapka, a public policy and administration student.
Gapka said smokers should understand their cigarettes endanger the health of people around them.
“I understand people need to smoke, but sometimes, it annoys me that I have to share it with them while I am walking by,” said Gapka.
The university, for its part, is looking far beyond its colonnade. President Lorna Marsden is overseeing the Pink Lungs Project exploring the possibility of making the campus a non-smoking zone by 2009, in time for York’s 50th anniversary.
Joe Levy, a health policy and management professor at the university, said the university should be pro-active on the issue.
“At York, we should be leaders, we should not be beaten into following the law,” said Levy, adding: “We don’t want to bring police on campus to police us; we want to deal with this on our own. We want to make a program to deal with this.”
Not all smokers think a smoking cessation program would help.
“If I was looking to quit, I would quit on my own terms. If more of my tuition is going to go towards (a smoking cessation) program, I would say no,” said Ann Brazao, a humanities student.
–François Villeneuve
Excalibur (York University)
