The Shady Grove Governing Council has approved a tobacco-free policy to be implemented on the USG campus, effective January 1, 2013. The tobacco-free policy will disallow the use of all tobacco products, including any lighted tobacco product and/or any oral tobacco product, within the boundaries of the USG campus. The policy will apply to all faculty, staff, students, visitors, contractors and guests.
The impending tobacco-free policy at USG was adopted with careful consideration and thorough exploration. In 2011, after receiving feedback from students, faculty and staff about smoking on campus, USG formed a task force to review and address the issue. The Task Force reviewed public health research, consulted with other campuses, researched trends regarding tobacco policies, and collected data from the USG community regarding their perception of tobacco use on campus. Surveys, web suggestion forms, and focus groups were all used to gather input from various USG constituencies.
Over the next year, USG will offer information and support to prepare its community for this change in policy, including efforts to:
- Inform the USG community, prospective students, institutional partners and visitors to the USG conference center about the changes in policy;
- Educate smokers about how they can adhere to the policy;
- Provide cessation support for any smokers in our community who might desire to quit, and
- Prepare the campus, boundaries and surrounding community.
All information about USG’s tobacco-free policy and resources available can be found at http://www.shadygrove.umd.edu/tobaccofree.