Smoking ban will make life harder for smokers

ISU will be quitting cold turkey when the smoking ban takes effect July 1, and preparations are being made for any problems that result.

Bill Mercier, the director of public safety, said he expects people to comply "voluntarily," where people would follow this regulation without needing police incentive.

"We don't really envision us having to enforce this," he said.

Mercier said if someone did choose to not comply with the smoking ban, the person would first be asked to stop smoking.

If the person continues to smoke, the punishment would "depend on … who they are to the university," he said.

If the person is a community member, the person would be escorted off campus. Anyone who is involved with the university would be directed towards the appropriate disciplinary entity, Mercier said.

"If it is a student, it would be appropriate to take it to student judicial," he said.

To help student smokers cope with the ban, the Student Health Center is providing free classes to help students quit smoking, said Aimee Janssen-Robinson, an outreach educator for the Student Counseling Center.

She said, so far, two graduate students have taken advantage of the classes.

Mercier wants students to be aware of where people can and can't smoke to prevent unnecessary interventions.

He said people smoking on city-street sidewalks are not on campus and therefore not subject to the ISU smoking ban, even if the sidewalk is inside campus.

Mercier also said, since the smoking ban is only a regulation, no one would be arrested for smoking on campus.

SGA President Michael Scott Jr said there will be "smoking islands" available around campus for smokers.

Scott also said he had mixed feelings about the fairness of the smoking ban.

I think fair is very subjective," he said. "As a non-smoker, I am often the recipient of undesirable secondhand smoke, there will be more comfort walking around campus as a result. Conversely, I can see how a smoker would see this being heavy-handed and an invasion of civil liberties."

For more information about the free smoking cessation classes, call student health promotions at 237-3939.