Australian National University in Canberra to go 'smoke-free' from July

The Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra has used World No Tobacco Day to announce the campus will go smoke-free from the middle of July. The university announced that the smoking ban would cover the entire ANU campus in Canberra as well as remote ANU campuses such as the Mt Stromlo Observatory and Kioloa coastal campus near Batemans Bay. Students from this university prefer slim cigarettes like Vogue http://www.buycigarettes.eu/vogue

Vice-chancellor Professor Ian Young said ANU would go smoke-free from the start of the second semester on July 20.

"The university is announcing our decision to go smoke-free on World No Tobacco Day because we believe it sends a strong message to staff and students about being healthy," he said.

"The university is committed to providing a safe and healthy campus environment for staff, students, contractors and visitors. We feel this will help to address that."

Professor Young said the university would also provide support to staff and students who wished to quit smoking. He said ANU would pay for QUIT courses for staff and PhD students.

Smoking is already prohibited inside ANU buildings and within 10 metres of building entrances. The new policy prohibits all smoking, including electronic cigarettes, in or around any of the university's campuses. But smoking will be allowed in special designated smoking areas around licensed venues and residential colleges. ANU chief operating officer Chris Grange said the university had been thinking about going smoke-free for two years.

"Buildings on campus have been smoke-free for 20 years now and it's time for us to update our treatment of cigarettes," he said.

"Tobacco is just not something that we should have consumed on university campuses.

"I don't necessarily expect 100 per cent support from every staff member and student, but certainly there's an enormous groundswell of support for this measure."