Outdoor areas designated for smokers

Universities Facilities has designated six sites on the North and South campuses as outdoor smoking areas in an attempt to better enforce the university's smoke-free policy.

	Student Taehun Kim puffs in the designated smoking area outside the entrance to the Undergraduate Library at Capen Hall. The site, which is under the overhang to protect smokers from the weather, features seating and ashtrays.
	Photo: Nancy J. Parisi

Since the university adopted a smoke-free policy in 1994, smoking has been prohibited in all university-owned and operated buildings, stadiums and outdoor events, and in all vehicles owned and operated by the university. Doorway areas and loading docks are considered to be part of buildings, according to the policy.

The natural result of the policy has been that smokers, especially during the winter months, have congregated outside the doorways to buildings, says Louis Schmitt, director of facilities operations. Non-smokers have complained about having to walk through clouds of smoke and crushed cigarette butts in order to enter buildings on campus.

The new designated smoking areas provide smokers a pleasant place to smoke outdoors, Schmitt says. The areas have seating, ashtrays and are covered from the weather, to the extent possible. Signs designating the locations as smoking areas have been posted.

The South Campus areas are located at the west side of the Cary-Farber Sherman Atrium and at the main patient entrance on the northeast side of Squire Hall.

North Campus areas are located at the entrance to the Undergraduate Library at Capen Hall; on the north side of Capen at ground level; at the north entrance to the Student Union, across from The Commons, and at the Founders Plaza entrance to the Student Union.

The campus smoke-free policy may be viewed at www.student-affairs.buffalo.edu/public-safety/smoking.shtml.