Lehigh University will go tobacco- and smoke-free

Lehigh University will soon implement a new campuswide tobacco-free policy that will ban smoking, vaping, hookahs, electronic smoking devices and using smokeless tobacco products like chewing tobacco.

The policy, which goes into effect Aug. 2, will ban the use of such products in all Lehigh University facilities, properties, grounds and vehicles across all campuses.

The new policy is the culmination of several years of collaborative work by many across the university with the primary goal of promoting health and wellness on the campus and in the community, Lehigh officials said in an announcement Friday.

It will apply 24/7, including on evenings and weekends, and applies to all Lehigh campuses and properties, owned or leased, regardless of location. The policy does not apply to off-campus areas that are neither owned nor managed by the university.

Lehigh joins more than 2,000 colleges and university across the country that are tobacco- and smoke-free campuses.

Other local colleges that have gone tobacco and smoke free include Cedar Crest College, Lehigh Carbon Community College and Muhlenberg College, according to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation.

More than 56. million young Americans will die early from a smoking-related illness if smoking continues at current rates, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tobacco use, both passive and active, is a significant health hazard.

“Adopting a tobacco-and smoke-free policy brings our practices into alignment with our community-wide health and wellness goals. It not only protects nonsmokers from secondhand smoking, but also promotes the cessation of harmful tobacco use and curbs the influence of the tobacco epidemic,” Lehigh officials said.

The policy applies to all students, faculty, staff and any other visitors to campus. Enforcement will be handled as a management issue for faculty and staff and as a behavioral issue for students, says the university’s website.

Those on campus will start to see changes this summer, including removal of outdoor ashtrays and smoking areas, and the installation of signs around campus announcing the new policy.

More information is available on Lehigh University’s website.