Private offices no longer may be designated campus smoking areas following a revision of Mississippi State's smoking policy.
In addition, faculty, staff and students may smoke outside a building only at a "reasonable distance (25 feet or more) outside any enclosed area where smoking is prohibited" in an effort to reduce the entrance of secondhand smoke into the structure.
The revised policy, which goes into effect Dec. 1, reads:
STUDENT AFFAIRS OP 91.301: Use of Tobacco on Campus
Date: August 31, 2006
Purpose
To provide uniform guidelines regarding the use of tobacco in order to create a healthful environment on the campus, and to encourage patterns of healthful behavior in students and all members of the university community.
Policy
Mississippi State University restricts the use of tobacco products (cigarettes, cigars, pipes, smokeless tobacco, snuff, and chewing tobacco) on Mississippi State University property in the following manner:
1. Tobacco use in any form shall not be permitted in university facilities and vehicles owned or leased, regardless of location.
2. Smoking shall only occur at a reasonable distance (25 feet or more) outside any enclosed area where smoking is prohibited so as to insure that secondhand smoke does not enter the area through entrances, windows, ventilation systems, or any other means.
3. Tobacco products will not be sold on campus or advertised in any campus publication.
4. This policy applies to all students, faculty, staff, and visitors.
The university annually will provide smoking withdrawal assistance programs and will provide on an ongoing basis educational programming and information on the hazards of tobacco use.
Enforcement of this policy will be administered under existing procedures as listed in the Mississippi State University Student Code of Conduct and the Faculty Handbook. Implementation will begin December 1, 2006.
Review
The Vice President for Student Affairs is responsible for the review of this operating policy every four years or as needed.