The days of smoking on the University of Regina campus are numbered as the school will be entirely smoke free come August 1st, 2018.
Tobacco, marijuana, e-cigarettes, among other products will all not be permitted under the new policy.
Smoking will also not be allowed in vehicles on campus grounds.
"Smoking in your personal vehicle while on campus property is not allowed," says Darren Cherwaty, Director of Health, Safety and Wellness at the U of R. "The reason being we are trying to eliminate or reduce the amount of secondhand smoke exposure."
The policy is being celebrated by the Canadian Cancer Society who has worked in partnership with the university when it comes to this new legislation.
"Of all the demographics in the province, young adults have the highest smoking rates," states Donna Pasiechnik, Manager of Media and Government Relations with the Canadian Cancer Society. "Anything we can do to restrict the number of places [people] can smoke is the way you reduce tobacco use."
When it comes to enforcement, the policy states:
"All members of the University community are subject to the requirements of this policy. The main focus of enforcement will be on voluntary compliance through education, signage and awareness. Violations will be subject to appropriate corrective administrative or non-academic discipline, and could result in disciplinary action up to and including termination of the member’s position with the University, or in the case of a student, consequences will be in accordance with the Regulations Governing Discipline for Academic and Non-academic Misconduct."
It's a first of its kind policy at a post-secondary institution in Saskatchewan, but is becoming more and more common at other institutions across the continent. The Canadian Cancer Society hopes other schools will follow the U of R's example to make this policy the new normal among students in the province.
