The second phase of the implementation plan will include removal of about half of the 18 designated smoking areas on Belknap Campus by July 1. Shelby Campus also is covered by the policy. Maps of smoking area changes on both campuses are on the Smoke Free UofL site.
Smoking already is prohibited at the UofL’s Health Sciences Center.
Our goal is to eliminate smoking on our Belknap Campus entirely, said Provost Shirley Willihnganz. We also want to be humane and to offer our students and employees support in quitting this highly addictive habit.
UofL is supporting students and employees who want to quit smoking, and is teaming with the Kentucky Cancer Program to offer smoking cessation classes. Participants in those classes also are eligible for free stop-smoking materials, such as nicotine gum and patches.
At this point, UofL is asking that administrators and other employees simply remind smokers that the policy exists and that there are designated smoking areas. Enforcement could be ramped up in the future, but for now the plan is to continue to build an atmosphere of compliance over time.
Despite the frustration over students and employees who insist on continuing to smoke near building entrances, we are seeing significant adherence to the policy as evidenced by the large number of people who are using the designated areas, Willihnganz said. We wish the progress was quicker, but the policy is working.