Tobacco.org

Widener University set to institute smoking ban 

Widener University, as of July 1, will become the first four-year college in the Philadelphia area to change policy by banning smoking and use of other tobacco products on its campuses - indoors and out.

The ban at the Chester-based school was recommended by a committee of faculty, staff, and students concerned about the effects of secondhand smoke and the financial impact of health-insurance costs for students and employees who smoke or chew tobacco.

The university is offering free smoking-cessation classes and nicotine-replacement drugs for employees, students, and family members, and a year's notice before the policy is enforced. The university's board of trustees approved the ban last spring.

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