WSU Tri-Cities going tobacco free in all buildings, grounds

Washington State University Tri-Cities will clear the air beginning with next fall’s classes by making the entire Richland campus tobacco free.

The new policy, which goes into effect Aug. 22, prohibits cigarettes and pipe tobacco as well as smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes used for vaping in buildings, parking lots, leased property and open spaces on the campus, a release said.

It does not apply to approved research projects of the WSU Office of Research Assurances Institutional Review Board nor to nicotine replacement products approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The move puts the Richland campus on par with WSU Spokane and WSU Vancouver, who went tobacco free years ago. The Pullman campus will also be tobacco free when classes resume in the fall.

A draft version of the tobacco free policy was circulated among the Richland campus community in the fall and winter. A survey on it showed that 70 percent of respondents were in favor of it.

“The intent of the new policy is to promote the health and wellbeing of the students, faculty and staff on the WSU Tri-Cities campus,” said Chancellor H. Keith Moo-Young in the release. “This is another positive step forward in fostering a healthy learning environment for everyone.

This story was originally published May 17, 2016 at 1:44 PM with the headline "WSU Tri-Cities going tobacco free in all buildings, grounds."