Tobacco.org

Kunrath: Making our campus tobacco-free 

Signs designate the childcare center at the Yale School of Medicine as a smoke-free area, but cigarette butts litter the sidewalks and smokers regularly light up on the Medical School campus. This tolerance of smoking across the street from Yale-New Haven Hospital sends a mixed message to patients, students and community members, who look to the school and the hospital for guidance on all matters related to health.

Yale University proudly advertises its many sustainability efforts, including the Yale Farm, biodiesel buses and LEED-certified Kroon Hall. However, there is a missing component to this picture: sustainable health. In order for Yale to promote sustainability on all levels, the administration should adopt a 100 percent tobacco-free policy for all indoor and outdoor areas of the medical campus. . . .

Tobacco-free policies are not inherently anti-smoker; their purpose is to support a healthy environment, not to exclude those who smoke. Considering the economic and health burdens of tobacco use, Yale University should join the tobacco-free movement, creating a cleaner and safer campus, setting a health-promoting example for students and the community, and achieving sustainability in both health and environment.

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