Tobacco-Free Campus

Tobacco-Free Campus 

Policy Statement

Employees, students, visitors, and contractors are prohibited from using tobacco products at any time on college property as well as on any spaces where college-sponsored or college-related activities are held, including during non-instructional and non-service hours.

Procedure

Communication

Signs will be posted to provide notification to faculty, staff, students, visitors, and contractors of the college’s 100 percent Tobacco-Free Campus Policy. The college will also communicate about implementation of the Tobacco-Free Campus Policy through printed information in employee and student handbooks and on the college’s website and through announcements during college-related activities.

Enforcement

All members of the college community are asked to respectfully remind faculty, staff, students, visitors, and contractors who are using tobacco products while on college property about the college’s Tobacco-Free Campus Policy. Information cards will be available for distribution to tobacco users by any member of the college community. The tobacco-free information cards will indicate that the college is a tobacco-free campus, provide notice of actions and penalties for use, and provide information about tobacco-use prevention and cessation resources. Campus Police and Public Safety officers are responsible for reminding faculty, staff, students, visitors, and contractors about the college’s Tobacco-Free Campus Policy and provide them with a copy of the tobacco-free information card. Officers may ask to see identification for faculty, staff, students, visitors, and contractors and complete an incident report for anyone violating the college’s policy. Copies of incident reports for an employee will be sent to the employee’s direct supervisor and division head for handling through the employee warning and disciplinary process. Copies of incident reports for students will be sent to the appropriate Student Learning, Development, and Support staff for handling through the student warning and disciplinary process. Employees and students cited for tobacco use will be notified of tobacco-use prevention programs and tobacco-use cessation resources. The five levels of offenses with penalties for tobacco-use on campus are as follows:

• First Offense – Written warning;

• Second Offense – $25 fine;

• Third Offense – $50 fine;

• Fourth Offense – Implementation of a contract with special conditions for faculty or staff and academic misconduct action for students, based on the respective disciplinary process;

• Additional Offenses – Disciplinary leave and/or termination of employment for faculty or staff and academic misconduct action for students, based on the respective disciplinary process.

Campus Police and Public Safety officers and employees will give a copy of the tobacco-free information card to visitors or contractors using tobacco products on college property and ask them to extinguish cigarettes, cigars, or pipes or to dispose of smokeless tobacco products. If a visitor or contractor refuses to comply with this request, officers and employees may ask the visitor or contractor to leave campus. Contractors will be asked to identify themselves and will be reported to the employee contracting for the outside services. The college employee will contact the company supervisor or manager and communicate in writing the college’ s expectation that contractors adhere to the college’s Tobacco-Free Campus Policy for continued work with the college.

Prevention and Cessation

The college will encourage employees and students to abstain from and/or cease smoking and using tobacco products. Information about tobacco-use prevention and cessation programs will be made available to faculty, staff, and students. Any fines collected as a result of employees and students cited for Tobacco-Free Campus offenses will be used to support wellness activities at the college.

You may also call the NC Tobacco-Use Quitline at 1-800-784-8669, or visit quitlinenc.com.

Purpose/Definitions

Background

Durham Technical Community College is committed to promoting and providing a safe and healthy environment for its faculty, staff, students, visitors, and contractors. As part of this commitment, the college is adopting a Tobacco-Free Campus Policy effective May 21, 2012. This policy also supports the NC Community College System’s goal of all community colleges in the state having 100 percent tobacco-free campuses by April 2013.

Definitions

For the purposes of this policy, “tobacco products” are defined as cigarettes, cigars, blunts, pipes, chewing tobacco, snuff, e-cigarettes, vaporizers, and any other items containing or reasonably resembling tobacco or tobacco products. “Tobacco use” includes smoking, vaping, chewing, dipping, or any other use of tobacco products. “Tobacco-free campus” refers to any building, facility, grounds, property, or vehicles owned or leased by Durham Technical Community College as well as any spaces where college-sponsored or college-related activities are held, whether on or off campus.

Tobacco products may be included in instructional activities in college buildings if the activity is conducted or supervised by the faculty member overseeing the instruction and if the activity does not include smoking, chewing, or otherwise ingesting the tobacco product.