"Tobacco? Not in Bearcat Country!" That was the theme of a two-week publicity blitz reminding Lander University students, faculty and staff that the use of tobacco, including smokeless tobacco, is not allowed anywhere on campus.
The ban has been in effect since 2007 when the Board of Trustees voted to make Lander the first state college or university in South Carolina to institute a tobacco-free policy. Smoking in campus parking lots and in the university's off-campus student housing facilities is included in the policy, which also applies to visitors.
President Daniel Ball said, "Our tobacco-free policy supports the university's wellness program whose goal is to provide an environment that promotes safe and healthy lifestyles on our campus."
Students, faculty and staff who violate the policy face fines ranging from $15 to $25.
Lander will intensify the monitoring of public areas bordering the campus, where the ban does not apply, to discourage smokers from leaving cigarette butts and other litter behind.
Ray Manley, chief of the University Police Department, said Greenwood's anti-littering ordinance will be strictly enforced in those areas. He warned that violators could be fined more than $1,000 and required to perform community service, picking up litter.
A task force Ball appointed to plan strategies for spreading the word about the tobacco-free policy has scheduled a number of events on campus from Aug. 30 to Sept. 10, the first two weeks of the fall semester.
Students, faculty and staff who smoke but want to quit can take advantage of free smoking cessation assistance provided by Lander's Wellness Center. Similar programs are available, free of charge, for faculty and staff who are state health plan members.
According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 20 percent of college students smoke, and nearly a third of college-age smokers will die prematurely from cancer or other smoking-related illnesses.