Many colleges in the United States are now enforcing a smoke-free campus, including the BU Medical Campus. However, instead of addressing the matter as a legal or law enforcement issue, BU should view it as a public health issue. Instead of punishing smokers for having an addiction that they have already developed, BU should promote services to help solve the problem.
One initiative could include engaging faculty and student smokers in programs to promote health and help quit smoking. Setting up designated, semi-private, smoking areas on campus could help protect nonsmokers’ health and make it safer for them to walk through campus. I know I wouldn’t mind avoiding smoking areas if it meant I could get fresh air everywhere else.