Environmental Health and Safety

WSU Spokane is a tobacco free campus

The tobacco-free policy applies to all campus grounds and state-owned vehicles and equipment.

The policy goes beyond the tobacco-free area mandated by the Washington Clean Indoor Act, which prohibits smoking in public buildings as well as within 25 feet of doors, windows, and ventilation intakes.

Policy proposed by ASWSUS

The ASWSU Spokane student senate proposed the all-campus tobacco-free policy in April 2011; campus leadership approved the final policy in December 2011. (See complete policy below.) The measure was proposed to be consistent with the campus designation in 2010 by the WSU Board of Regents as the University’s health sciences campus.

TOBACCO-FREE CAMPUS POLICY

Effective Date: May 2012

1. No Tobacco Use: In order to create an atmosphere consistent with WSU Health Sciences Spokane’s vision statement for a creative, engaged, world-class learning enterprise for the 21st century that helps design healthy lives, institutions and environments, WSU Health Sciences Spokane prohibits the use and sale of tobacco products in or on the campus.
2. Definitions: For the purposes of this policy, the following words and phrases shall mean:
   • Tobacco Products:  Cigarettes, cigars, pipes, hookah, all forms of smokeless tobacco, electronic cigarettes, clove cigarettes and other alternative products made primarily with tobacco.
   • Premises:  All buildings, grounds, state-owned vehicles and equipment including, but not limited to, parking lots, bus stops, city owned and WSU maintained streets or sidewalks within the WSU Health Sciences Spokane campus.
3. Resources: WSU Health Sciences Spokane is committed to assist employees, students, patients, visitors and others, regardless of institutional affiliation.  WSU Health Sciences Spokane may make available to such persons resources intended to assist persons who use tobacco.
4. Communication and Compliance: The following persons are responsible for ensuring that this policy is communicated to employees, students, visitors and others in the WSU Health Sciences Spokane  community:
   • Human Resources to employees
   • Student Affairs regarding students and room/event scheduling
   • Academic department leads to other visitors
   • Communications Office to external visitors
   • Facilities to outside vendors working on campus
   • Chancellor’s Office to partner institutions

   Each of the above responsible persons may establish procedures and protocols, consistent with each other and this policy, designed to eliminate tobacco use from campus, increase compliance and to assist tobacco users in availing themselves of tobacco dependency treatment options.

5. Sanctions: Efforts will be made to eliminate the need for sanctions by first informing employees, students and visitors of the policy before they arrive and by providing appropriate information and care while they are on WSU Health Sciences Spokane premises.  Any person who repeatedly violates this policy may be asked to leave the premises and/or may be removed. Employees may be subject to corrective or disciplinary action and other sanctions available to enforce this policy.
6. Signage: Signs declaring WSU Health Sciences Spokane as “tobacco-free” shall be posted at the campus entries and other conspicuous places.
7. Disclosure of Policy and Information: All faculty and staff are encouraged to assist in the implementation and enforcement of this policy by making tobacco product users aware of the requirements of this policy.

Employees, students and visitors will be advised of this policy in a manner determined by the above-described responsible persons.

**This policy does not intend to impede on IRB research projects. IRB-approved research projects are exempt from this policy.