More Canadian university and college campuses going smoke-free: report

“That’s positive because not only is there protection from second-hand smoke, but it’s a great motivator for smokers to quit because it’s less convenient.”

Of the universities and colleges that are smoke-free, many have policies that also apply to cannabis, hookah smoking and e-cigarettes.

But next month’s legalization of recreational marijuana is spurring many post-secondary institutions to strengthen current smoke-free policies and may prod others to bring in their own bans.

“Suddenly, it’s going to be legal to smoke cannabis. There are many underage students,” said Cunningham, noting that depending on the province, those under the age of 18 or 19 are prohibited from smoking pot.

The easiest thing for all of the country’s 260 colleges and universities to do, he said, “is to say you can’t smoke anything anywhere on campus.”

At the University of Toronto, students have long been banned from smoking tobacco in residences and “the same will apply for smoking cannabis,” spokesperson Elizabeth Church said by email.

The university is reviewing its smoking policy for all three if its campuses, which bans smoking in buildings or “anywhere prohibited by law,” she said.

“Under Ontario’s Cannabis Act, use of cannabis will be banned in all workplaces and public spaces. At U of T, that includes offices, classrooms, libraries, athletic facilities, and campus grounds.”

The University of British Columbia is also in the midst of revising its smoking policies for both the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses, with proposed changes to be presented to the institution’s board on Sept. 27, followed by a public consultation.

Currently, the Vancouver campus bans tobacco and cannabis smoking in buildings, bus shelters, inside university vehicles, and within eight metres of doors and air-intake vents, said UBC lawyer Michael Serebriakov. At the Okanagan campus in Kelowna, B.C., smoking is prohibited everywhere except in designated gazebos.

“The current version of the policy does not impose 100 per cent smoking ban on either of the campuses,” he said.

“We have to take into consideration the legal rights of cannabis and tobacco smokers as well as consideration of people who are vulnerable to the impact of second-hand smoke. So at this point there is no general prohibition.”

Under the proposed policy changes, “cannabis and tobacco smoking and vaping will be treated in the same way as tobacco smoking is treated under the current policy,” said Serebriakov, noting that the revised version is expected to be finalized and approved in early 2019.

The Canadian Cancer Society is also concerned about the growing prevalence of vaping, particularly among youth — a phenomenon the commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration characterized this week as an “epidemic of addiction,” mainly driven by flavoured products.

“Most campuses adopting policies are applying them to smoking of anything, including cannabis, and applying it to e-cigarettes as well,” said Cunningham.

“But it is good for policies to be comprehensive,” he said. “One of the reasons for that is that you can consume cannabis through an e-cigarette. That’s part of the context of why there shouldn’t be vaping either on campus.”

— Follow @SherylUbelacker on Twitter.

Sheryl Ubelacker, The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

More Canadian university and college campuses going smoke-free: report

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