Widener University set to institute smoking ban

Widener University, as of July 1, will become the first four-year college in the Philadelphia area to change policy by banning smoking and use of other tobacco products on its campuses - indoors and out.

The ban at the Chester-based school was recommended by a committee of faculty, staff, and students concerned about the effects of secondhand smoke and the financial impact of health-insurance costs for students and employees who smoke or chew tobacco.

The university is offering free smoking-cessation classes and nicotine-replacement drugs for employees, students, and family members, and a year's notice before the policy is enforced. The university's board of trustees approved the ban last spring.

"We're going to try to do everything possible to provide them with the means to quit, and in the long run, both the individual and institution will be better off," said Widener president James T. Harris III, whose parents were smokers and whose mother died of lung cancer.

Fliers hailing the smoke-free status began going up around Widener's campuses in Chester and Exton and its law school campuses in Harrisburg and Delaware in recent months. The 6,550-member student body returns next week for the second semester.

The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education in 2008 tried to institute a similar ban on its 14 campuses, including Cheyney and West Chester. But after protest from some students and staff, the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board overruled the decision in May, saying public universities could not ban outdoor smoking without negotiating with employee unions.

A private school faces no such hurdle, said Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education. "Private universities have considerably more autonomy," he said.

Widener's decision makes sense, he added.

"There's no question that the nation as a whole is moving in the direction of more and more restrictions on smoking. It's not surprising to see colleges and universities, who are, as a group, concerned about the physical well-being of their students and staff, moving aggressively in this direction," he said.

Several local community colleges - Camden County and Burlington County in New Jersey, and Montgomery County in Pennsylvania - also have total campus bans on tobacco products. Eastern University has been tobacco free since its inception as a Baptist seminary in 1925.

Other area schools prohibit smoking near buildings. Some allow it only in designated outdoor areas on campus.

The issue has received more attention in recent months as the American College Health Association last fall updated its guidelines, recommending a tobacco ban on campuses. The change was made as the risks of smoking become even clearer and the social acceptance of smoking declines along with the number of tobacco users, said Michael McNeil, the association's past co-chair of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs Coalition, and interim director of Columbia University's health promotion program.

"When it comes to exposure to tobacco smoke, none is best. The scientific literature is pretty clear," he said.

Nationally, several hundred campuses have gone tobacco-free around the country, including the Universities of Florida, Michigan and Kentucky, according to groups that monitor tobacco use.

At Widener, the decision has met with opposition and concern from some staff and students, especially at the law school, where stress is high and student smokers worry about the added pressure of quitting.

"But we really haven't gotten much pushback," said Lynn Nelson Russom, Widener's director of student health services.

University officials estimate that from 10 to 15 percent of staff and students smoke campuswide.

"It impedes students' freedom of thought and freedom of expression," said junior Colin Ainsworth, 21, of Aston, treasurer of the Student Government Association.

Ainsworth, a half-a-pack-a-day smoker, said he considered transferring but decided to stay and go off campus to smoke.

He said the university should prohibit smoking within 25 feet of a building, which some argue already is an unwritten rule.

"I think it's harder to enforce that, because who is going to sit there and measure 25 feet away?" Russom countered.

Senior Tyla Conicello, 22, of West Conshohocken, the student government president, said the ban goes too far.

"But I don't like when I smell smoke outside my dorm room, and they shouldn't be smoking that close," she said.

Opinions also vary among employees. Some are carping; others are thankful.

Pack-a-day-plus smoker Kim D'Eletto, 47, took the university's help and quit Nov. 3.

"I can't believe it took me 30 years to do it, and it was great for them to give me the push," said D'Eletto, administrative assistant to the associate vice president for enrollment management.

D'Eletto, who used to go out to smoke up to five times a day, took advantage of the free counseling and six-week supply of the patch to quit.

Candi Caporale, assistant to the senior vice president for university advancement, quit two months ago after 40 years of smoking.

"It's kind of like forcing you to do what you know you should have been doing a long time ago," said Caporale, 62. "I'm breathing better. I'm sleeping better."

Camden County College this month begins fining violators $25 for a first offense and $50 for subsequent offenses. Its policy took effect last July. Several hundred warnings have been issued to violators over the last six months, spokeswoman Susan Coulby said.

The community colleges in Burlington and Montgomery Counties also issue fines under their policies, adopted in 2007.

Harris said he hoped Widener would not have to institute penalties but would take steps if there were repeat offenders.