Staff Editorial: New smoking policy needs updates, revisions

Last spring, Saint Joseph's University revised its smoking policy in order to comply with the laws set forth by Philadelphia County. The city-wide smoking ban, implemented in January 2007, prohibits smoking within 25 feet of public buildings.

While we fully support the university's compliance with Philadelphia law, the inconsistent placement of "designated smoking areas" and a lack of regulation makes for an ineffectual policy.

When the new smoking policy was introduced last semester, St. Joe's students were informed that they would no longer be allowed to smoke directly in front of entrances to academic buildings and residence halls. However, ashtrays remained a prominent feature near entranceways across campus, and the locations of designated smoking areas were not clearly marked or communicated to the student body.

This fall, the university improved its communication by posting signs throughout campus, clearly marking the new smoking areas.

However, several smoking policy issues have yet to be addressed.

First, many of the locations deemed appropriate for smoking do not make much sense. The front entrance to Bellarmine is perpetually crowded during classes, forcing smokers to move significantly closer to the doors than the designated location prescribes. Placing a designated smoking area near a crowded place on campus defeats the point of the revised smoking policy, namely, to limit the exposure of non-smokers to second-hand smoke. The addition of smokers to an already high-traffic area creates a crush of people that is both inconvenient and unsafe.

In addition to poorly placed smoking locations, the university has also failed to move all ashtrays to the designated areas. In front of LaFarge, for example, signs by benches near the front doors warn students of the dangers of cigarettes and behoove them to stop smoking on the benches. Directly below these reminders, though, are multiple ashtrays resting snugly against those same benches. Similar issues persist in front of buildings across campus, including Bellarmine, Borgia, and outside of Campion. If the university expects students to only smoke in designated locations, it should remove ashtrays from non-designated areas.

Lastly, the university has failed to communicate any official procedures or consequences for dealing with persons on campus who do not adhere to the smoking policy. On the university's human resources Web site, the administration admits that "this policy relies on the thoughtfulness and consideration of smokers and non-smokers." An "Environmental Compliance Officer" is noted as having "overall responsibility for the implementation and enforcement of this policy."

Beyond not giving specifics as to who this compliance officer might be, the site also does not offer specifics regarding what "enforcement" might entail. It is also unclear whether other departments and individuals on campus will be given the task of enforcing this policy, whatever that enforcement might include.

While the university should be commended for efforts to protect the health and safety of students, faculty, and staff, the execution of the current smoking policy has been ineffective at best.

The Hawk Staff