By Baylee Pulliam
Jeffery Culp is a fugitive. One day into a universitywide smoking ban, Culp nonchalantly flicks a cigarette before class.
The University of Louisville issued the ban on Nov. 18. On the Belknap Campus, designated smoking areas were removed and students, faculty and staff were asked to refrain from smoking.
“I know it’s a rule, but I feel like people aren’t really taking the ban seriously,” said Culp, a freshman undecided major.
If the large number of students still openly smoking on campus is any indication, Culp may be right.
However, the Office of Health Promotion notes that there will be benefits to the new policy’s implementation.
“It’s a national trend for university campuses to commit to establishing a culture that doesn’t tolerate the poor air quality and trash generated by smoking and to promote not smoking as the norm,” said Karen Newton, director of health promotion and education for Campus Health Services.
In addition to banning smoking on campus, the university has made several programs available to help smokers quit. According to Newton, these programs have been available for a year now, but the smoking ban makes them all the more relevant.
“Our job isn’t to judge people for smoking,” said Newton. “It’s to make help available to those that want to quit.”
Programs offered by Campus Health include smoking cessation classes, which will be available to students, faculty and staff in both group and online format. Additionally, students in the program will be offered medications to help them quit, provided they have been medically approved and are over the age of 18. Both the programs and the medication are optional for those who wish to quit smoking. According to Newton, the university provost has approved these free benefits to students through May of 2011.
While some see the new programs as an opportunity to quit, others view them as an ultimatum.
“I just feel like my freedom has been taken away,” said Culp. “I think I should have the freedom to choose if I smoke or not.”
According to an e-mail sent to U of L students, faculty and staff by provost Shirley Willihnganz, the university plans to work through resistance to the ban.
“Despite some resistance, most members of our community have embraced our decision and are following the policy,” said Willihnganz in the e-mail. “Let’s continue the positive momentum and work together to make this a healthier environment for all members of the university community.”
