Vol. 19, No. 23

March 9, 2000

Housing to be smoke free

University-owned student housing on the Newark campus will be smoke-free, beginning this fall, President David P. Roselle announced. “We are joining the growing number of organizations that have made all of their buildings smoke-free,” Roselle said. “In so doing, our desire is to ensure that the University of Delaware offers the highest degree of protection–both from the standpoint of health and safety–for the students who live on campus as well as the staff and visitors who work in and use our facilities.” On the recommendation of UD’s Faculty Senate, all academic and office buildings and UD vehicles were declared smoke-free in 1995. This action also included a ban on smoking during football contests in Delaware Stadium. “Extending the ban on smoking to our student housing is the right thing to do and this is the right time to do it,” Roselle said. “Indeed,” he said, “because of student preference, we have added numerous additional smoke-free housing options in the past few years. As was earlier the case with the airlines, this step-by-step restriction of smoking areas was clearly only a transition to a smoke-free environment.” Barbara Kreppel, associate vice president for administrative services, said any returning students who already have signed up for residence hall rooms have until July 1 to cancel their housing contracts should they wish to do so. Full refunds will be given to those who cancel by the end of the semester, she said. “The smoking policy is being announced now so students who choose to do so will have the time to seek alternative housing,” Kreppel said. Additional smoking-cessation classes and workshops, as well as an educational campaign on the dangers of smoking, will be offered, involving the Division of Student Life and the College of Health and Nursing Sciences, in conjunction with the Delaware Lung Association. Dr. Joseph Siebold, director of Student Health Services, said medical evidence clearly shows that smoking has resulted in a health epidemic and is an irritant and a discourtesy to many non-smokers. Effects of smoking include worsened allergy conditions, heart disease and lung cancer, he said. Moreover, there is clear evidence, Dr. Siebold said, that exposure to second-hand smoke may seriously threaten the health of non-smokers. UD currently has 15 residence halls and several floors of other residence halls officially designated as smoke-free, Kreppel said.