May 22, 2018 | UHCL Staff
University of Houston-Clear Lake has been designated a campus-wide tobacco-free campus. Effective Aug. 1, the new policy will prohibit the use of all tobacco products in university buildings and on all university grounds. The policy applies to all forms of tobacco, including but not limited to cigarettes, cigars, pipes, water pipes, vapes, bidis, kreteks, electronic cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco, and all nicotine delivery devices not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The use of all tobacco products will be prohibited outdoors on campus, including parking areas outside of personal cars, sidewalks, university affiliated parking facilities, and university-owned buildings, except University Forest Apartments. All previously designated smoking areas will lose this designation. The new tobacco-free policy will allow the use of tobacco products in personal vehicles only.
The FDA says tobacco use poses a significant health risk to both users and non-users. Secondhand smoke, and smoking or non-smoke device emissions, snuff and chewing tobacco can be irritating, cause health hazard for nonsmokers in the workplace, and can damage property. It’s particularly harmful to individuals with heart or respiratory diseases or allergies.
The university seeks to secure compliance of this policy by establishing a culture of cooperation, courtesy and mutual respect for the health of each individual in our university community.
During this transition, UH-Clear Lake encourages and supports any student, faculty, or staff member to take advantage of the following available smoking cessation resources:
For UHCL employees: www.uhcl.edu/human-resources/work-life/health-wellness.
For UHCL students: https://www.uhcl.edu/campus-life/health-wellness/health-services/quit-smoking
