The student group Campuses Organized and United for Good Health
is pushing to revise the university’s smoke-free policy in
order to establish a 20-foot smoke-free zone around all building
entrances and exits.
Current university policy, which dates back to 1998, forbids
smoking within five feet of a main exit or entrance of a
university-owned or leased building. In addition, smoking is
prohibited within 20 feet of all building entrances and exits at
the Residential Halls and the Medical Center.
The proposal is consistent with the policies of the Medical
Center and residential halls, and would be easier to enforce and
remember than the current policy, said Erica Sutherland, campus
organizer for COUGH.
COUGH’s proposed revision of the UCLA policy comes after
its Smoke-Free Campuses Survey, conducted last summer. The survey,
created by the L.A. County Tobacco Control Program, was completed
by 273 UCLA students, 80 percent of whom said they would be
uncomfortable if somebody were smoking within a 5-foot
vicinity.
Nicholas Reis, a first-year English student, thinks the proposal
is probably a good idea, but also concedes that the situation is
not black and white.
“People are still going to smoke in (the same) general
areas “¦ it could be hard to enforce,” he said.
Reis pointed out that if the smoke-free zone were increased to
20 feet, students would no longer be allowed to smoke on the steps
of the College Library, an area on campus frequented by
smokers.
Many students do not know what the current university smoke-free
policy is and seem indifferent to COUGH’s proposal.
One of these students is Roman Otkupman, a fourth-year economics
student, who questions the proposal’s benefits, saying the
proposal is “not worth it” because
“nobody’s going to count the feet.”
Otkupman’s assertion addresses a major concern of the
student body. Many students, regardless of whether they smoke, are
apathetic to the idea of spending university funds to enforce a
smoke-free zone.
One of COUGH’s complaints about the current policy is that
it is not enforced. If the proposal passes, said Sutherland, the
20-foot smoke-free zone would be enforced by signage in the
affected areas.
Dean of Students Robert Naples said he does not feel strongly
about the proposal, but cited it could pose an inconvenience for
smokers in times of bad weather, since most covered areas outdoors
are near building entrances and exits.
Supporters of the proposed modification to the smoke-free policy
hope to make the UCLA campus a healthier place for smokers and
non-smokers alike by reducing their exposure to secondhand
smoke.
A report on secondhand smoke conducted by the U.S. Surgeon
General’s office concluded that secondhand smoke has higher
concentrations of ammonia, carbon monoxide, nicotine and certain
carcinogens than the smoke actually inhaled by smokers. The report
also linked secondhand smoke to respiratory problems and diseases
such as lung cancer.
Sutherland said the effort to change the smoke-free policy at
UCLA began in June 2002. Since then, UCLA’s School of Public
Health and School of Nursing have shown support for the proposal,
and the Academic Senate is voting this week on whether to endorse
it.
Rick Greenwood, director of Environment, Health and Safety, said
he has not yet seen the actual proposal, but that in general, his
department is in support of it.
COUGH is active on 14 university campuses, including Cal Poly
Pomona and Cal State Los Angeles.