Newstalk Florida – N

Smoke is clearing in its entirety around another Florida college campus. Florida State University will join the likes of University of Florida, Florida International University and The University of Central Florida by implementing a new policy making both their campuses tobacco-free starting January 1,2014.  UF and FIU adopted their tobacco-free policy in 2010 and UCF went smoke-free in 2012. Junior English major Chelsea Daubar doesn’t mind the change but is unsure of its effectiveness.

“It’s possible [it could work],” she said “It depends on how well it’s enforced and I don’t think smoking students will react well.”

Before the new policy was approved, FSU had designated smoking zones located around campus that restricted the areas people could smoke. Florida colleges such as the University of South Florida and the University of Tampa currently have enforced smoking-zone policies and have no immediate plans to switch to smoke-free campuses. USF implemented their policy in 2012 and UT’s took effect just this fall.

Gaetano D’Anna, a junior economics major at USF is happy with the current smoking policy.

“I feel that with the current policy, my right to not breathe second-hand smoke is protected while at the same time giving smokers places to go on campus,” he said “I don’t think a smoke-free campus is fair to people who are genuinely hooked.”