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PCC campuses go smoke-free

Effective July 1, Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas (PCCUA) has become a tobacco-free institution. Last September, the PCCUA Board of Visitors unanimously approved a recommendation to become tobacco-free.

According to the new policy, smoking and the use of tobacco products (including cigarettes, cigars, pipes, smokeless tobacco and other tobacco products) by students, faculty, staff and visitors are prohibited on all Phillips Community College properties at all times.

This includes use in all interior space on the PCCUA campuses and on all outside property and grounds of PCCUA campuses including partially enclosed areas such as walkways, breezeways and bus shelters. Use is also prohibited in college vehicles, including buses, vans, and all other college vehicles, and in all indoor and outdoor athletic facilities, as well as the grandstands of outdoor facilities.

Organizers and attendees at public events, such as conferences, meetings, public lectures, social events, cultural events and sporting events using Phillips College facilities will be required to abide by this policy. In addition, organizers of such events are responsible for communicating the policy to attendees and for enforcing this policy.

PCCUA chancellor Dr. Steven Murray noted that this policy will provide a cleaner, tobacco-free environment for PCCUA employees, students, and visitors.

“At Phillips Community College, we are committed to providing our students with as clean and healthy environment as we can.  This policy will help us live out that commitment. If our employees and students who now use tobacco choose to quit entirely, we will assist them in that effort,” he said.

PCCUA is committed to supporting all Phillips College students and employees in their efforts to stop using tobacco products. Assistance to students, faculty, and staff to overcome the addiction to tobacco products is available through various programs. Referrals to cessation services are encouraged.

Murray also noted that Act 734, The Arkansas Clean Air on Campus Act of 2009, was passed during the recent legislative session. This act bans smoking on the campuses of all state-supported institutions of higher education in Arkansas effective Aug. 1, 2010.