By Sarah Mcsparin

As cities across the United States issue smoking bans in public areas, the University of Louisville is considering following suit for the Belknap campus.

A smoking ban, which would eliminate all smoking on the main campus, is being discussed by U of L administration, Provost Shirley Willihnganz said.

“Several factors have brought this discussion forward,” Willihnganz said. “Since the city has banned smoking in public places, the idea of ‘banning smoking’ is very much a part of the public dialogue.”

After prohibiting smoking outside at the downtown Health Sciences campus in 2004, Willihnganz said discussion began of how to expand this ban onto the Belknap campus.

“I receive regular complaints about smoking in front of building entrances, creating a haze others have to walk through,” Willihnganz said. “It smells bad and litters our campus with ashes and butts.”

Although the smoking ban is in the preliminary stages, Willihnganz hopes to begin slowly moving the Belknap campus toward a smoke-free environment in the coming months.

“The University of Kentucky and Western [Kentucky University] restrict smoking within 20 or 25 feet of building entrances,” Willihnganz said. “That would be a likely first step for us and one that I would think it reasonable to implement soon.”

Since there are no designated smoking areas on campus, many students have voiced concerned over compromising their health due to inhalation of second-hand smoke.

“I believe that my health should not be affected because of someone else’s lifestyle,” junior art major Courtney Bray said. “A smoking ban would not only improve my health, but better the campus atmosphere.”

However, others feel the ban could infringe on the personal rights of students and faculty who smoke.

“They have a right to smoke. Some people live here on campus,” Lindsey Joyce, a junior biology major said. “You can’t expect them to leave campus, where they live, to smoke.”

Willihnganz acknowledges that restricting smoking may pose a problem for resident students.

“We don’t allow smoking in the residence halls, but we also don’t want people trekking across campus in the middle of the night to get to a place where they can have a cigarette.”

Before the smoking ban is enacted, Willihnganz plans to meet with the deans and vice presidents at U of L along with Student Government Association leaders to evaluate the overall opinion.

Currently, the SGA is creating a focus group to gauge students’ reaction to the issue, SGA Executive Vice President Kate Brueggemann said.

“The SGA top four each has their own opinion,” senior political science major Brueggemann said. “We really want to make sure we represent the students’ opinion on this.”

Willihnganz said the high incidence of cancers and illnesses associated with smoking in Kentucky helped prompt U of L into planning a “stop smoking” campaign which will begin around the same time the ban would be enforced.

This effort would consist of smoking cessation programs, support groups and other initiatives to help people quit smoking.

“The evidence continues to mount that smoking is highly addictive and terrible for people who do it,” Willihnganz said.