OCU had a tobacco-use policy. Why change?
Oklahoma City University’s policy has adapted over time as information about the effects of tobacco use has changed society’s tolerance for it. We have gone from allowing smoking in buildings, classrooms and offices to prohibiting smoking inside facilitiesand from allowing people to smoke outside to prohibiting smoking within 20 feet of building entrances. The new policy is intended to promote a healthy environment by prohibiting tobacco use anywhere on any Oklahoma City University property. The latest U.S. Surgeon General’s report, “The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke,” concluded that there is no risk-free level of exposure to second hand smoke. At OCU, we teach and train future scientists and healthcare professionals, and we conduct scientific research. We are keenly aware that we cannot ignore the preponderance of evidence that tobacco use is a threat to everyone’s health, smokers and non-smokers alike. We have visitors to campus, young and old, whose il
