TOBACCO FREE CAMPUS POLICY
Tobacco Use, Smoking, and Electronic devices (Vaping) are Prohibited on Campus: As of January 1, 2020, smoking and the use of all tobacco products are prohibited on Shepherd University campuses. This policy includes the use of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco such as chew or snuff, electronic vaping devices and hookahs. This prohibition includes all Shepherd University facilities, grounds within the campus boundaries as well as within University-owned or leased vehicles (regardless of registration or off-road status).
Definitions
- “Tobacco Product” means (1) any substance containing tobacco leaf, or any extract or derivative thereof, including but not limited to, cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, hookah tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco, bidis, blunts, clove cigarettes, or any other preparation of tobacco; and (2) any product or formulation of matter containing biologically active amounts of nicotine that is delivered via topical oral, inhalation, chewing, etc. This excludes FDA approved nicotine replacement therapies consumed orally or administered in a skin-patch.
- “Electronic Smoking Device” means any product containing or instrument containing or delivering nicotine or any derivative or extract of either tobacco or nicotine intended for human consumption that can be used by a person in any manner for the purpose of inhaling vapor or aerosol from the product. The term includes any such device, whether manufactured, distributed, marketed, or sold as an e-cigarette, e-cigar, e-pipe, e-hookah, or vape pen, or any other product name or descriptor.
- “Hookah” means a water pipe or substantially comparable device and any associated products and devices which are used to produce fumes, smoke, and/or vapor from the burning of materials including, but not limited to, tobacco, shisha, or other plant matter.
- “Smoking” shall include inhaling, exhaling, burning, or possessing any light or heated cigar, cigarette, or pipe or any other lighted or heated tobacco or plant product regardless of intent of the possessor of any such item, including hookahs and marijuana, whether natural or synthetic, in any manner or any form. “Smoking” also includes the use in any manner or degree of an electronic smoking device which creates an aerosol or vapor, in any manner or in any form, or the used of any combustion or vapor device designed to facilitate inhalation of tobacco or nicotine products.
- “Shepherd University (SU) Campus” is defined as (1) all property, grounds, streets, fields, woodlands, buildings, stadiums and other facilities owned and controlled by SU and under the jurisdiction of the Shepherd University Board of Governors. This includes all premises owned, operated, leased, or occupied by SU.
- “Member of the University Community” for purposes of this policy only, is defined as an individual engaged in any activity or program or any individual on the SU Campus, including, but not limited to, any person who is a student, staff, faculty member, other SU official, vendor, patient, or visitor.
- “Tobacco-free Policy” refers to a policy that prohibits the use, distribution, and/or sale of all tobacco and /or derived tobacco or products intended for human consumption on or in Shepherd University property.
Accountability:
The Tobacco-Free Policy will go into effect on January 1, 2020. During the 2020 Spring and Fall Semesters, Shepherd will use a “soft enforcement approach” and seek cooperation as the campus acclimates to a nonsmoking environment. Teams of volunteer Ambassadors from the Campus Community will periodically visit former campus smoking areas to seek compliance and educate. Employees and students who are found to be smoking and/or using tobacco products, as described in Definitions, will politely be asked to stop use immediately and will be thanked for their cooperation. The Ambassadors will also provide information on how to end dependence on tobacco and other related substances as defined in the policy.
An employee who continually refuses or fails to cooperate under “soft enforcement” may be subject to disciplinary action for failure to comply with policy. A visitor to the campus who violates this policy may be asked to leave campus and may be treated as a trespasser if they refuse.
A student who continually refuses or fails to cooperate under “soft enforcement” may be subject to disciplinary action for failure to comply with policy. Students who overtly refuse to follow the policy may be found in violation of the Student Code of Conduct and therefore may be subject to restorative justice processes as described in the Student Handbook. Non-Shepherd students who refuse to comply with this policy may be asked to leave campus.