Reporter Volume 26, No.1 September 1,1994

By CHRISTINE VIDAL
Reporter Editor
Snuff those stogies! Put out those butts! Effective Aug. 29, a new
policy prohibits smoking in all university-owned and ocksQthose are
considered part of the building. And thereUs no smoking allowed in
outdoor stadiums and at outdoor events.
	UB is smoke free.
	RWeUre all going to have to understand that this change for
smokers involves a transition,S said Robert J. Wagner, senior vice
president for university services. RWe all support individuals who
choose to undertake smoking cessation programs. We all need to be
understanding and tolerant as we go to a smoke-free environment. This
is the direction in which the university chooses to go. ItUs our
intent to move as quickly as possible to a smoke-free environment.S
	The only exceptions to the no-smoking policy are for selected
residence-hall bedrooms and the Commons. While smoking is prohibited
in all areas that students use in common, or to which the public has
access, smoking will be allowed in designated student bedrooms on
designated floors, but only at the request of students. And the policy
does not apply to the Commons because that facility is not considered
to be university owned and operated, said Ellen McNamara, assistant
vice president for human resources.
	Cigarettes can still be purchased on campus in the
Inter-Residence Council Business (IRCB) stores located in UBUs
residence halls, according to Clifford B. Wilson, associate vice
president for student affairs. Although UB stopped selling tobacco
products at its candy counters two years ago and no longer has
cigarette vending machines on campus, it was decided that Rsince the
residence halls are home to the students...the stores in those
facilities could function with a different policy (than stores in
other campus locations),S Wilson said. The Faculty-Student Association
(FSA), which now runs IRCB, will decide this month whether to continue
selling cigarettes in those stores.
	In the meantime, ashtrays are being removed from the doorways
of buildings, and a new heart-healthy, no-smoking logo has been posted
on building entrances.
hile some smokers are up in arms about the
 	new policy, McNamara said, others are using it as an incentive
to kick the habit. And smoking cessation programs are an important
part of the policy, according to McNamara. Smokers who wish to quit
should be granted reasonable release time by their supervisors to
attend smoking cessation programs. A list of programs is available
through Personnel Services; students are encouraged to contact the
Living Well Center at UB.
	The smoking ban at UB has been on its way since March 1990,
when UB implemented a policy limiting smoking to designated areas,
whichJincluded private offices, sections of food-service areasJmarked
as Rsmoking areas,S residence hall bedroomsJ and specially designated
Rsmoking rooms.S
	However, increasing concerns about the effects of second-hand
smoke prompted several campus groups to call for a smokingJban,
McNamara said.
	A smoke-free environment at UB was recommended by the campus
labor/management health and safety committee in its 1992-93 annual
report, and endorsed by the various university governing bodies
throughout the 1993-94 academic year.
	The Faculty Senate passed a smoke-free environment resolution
in April 1993, and the United University Professions Buffalo Center
Chapter endorsed the resolution in June 1993. The Professional Staff
Senate passed a smoke-free environment resolution in November 1993.
UBUs Environmental Task Force passed a resolution calling for a
smoke-free environment in January 1994. And the University Council
unanimously supported the proposed policy in June. Negotiations with
local campus unions began a year ago and were completed in March.