The campus-wide tobacco ban talked about by students and faculty since early spring is official.
Since Aug. 11, tobacco usage has been banned on all campuses, including the Kingsport and Bristol campuses, as well as the Veterans Affairs Campus and any ETSU owned buildings.
Designated smoking areas are no longer located outside buildings around campus; instead the use of any tobacco product is restricted to personal vehicles only. This includes students, faculty, staff and visitors.
Some students have questioned if the usage of tobacco products inside of their vehicles means that they must keep their windows up while smoking.
“While we would prefer windows remain up, there is no real way to police this situation,” says Vice President for Administration and Finance Dr. David Collins.
The department that is most responsible for making sure students comply with the new rules is the Environmental Health and Safety Office, as well as Public Safety. According to the Tobacco Free Campus Enforcement Policy, there is a set procedure for any student or ETSU employee who is caught using tobacco products.
A violation form will be completed for each violation and will be forwarded to Human Resources for employee incidents or Student Affairs for student incidents, according to the enforcement policy.
The guidelines also state that no fines or citations will be part of the basic enforcement policy.
For those who break the rule frequently, the policy states that the individual department will handle the progressive discipline for repeat violators.
The decision to make ETSU tobacco-free is “a health and safety issue,” Collins says.
“The effects of second hand smoke are well documented,” Collins says. “It is also a disability issue since we have many individuals who are allergic or have other respiratory ailments.”
In order to help students and staff “kick the habit,” an ETSU Smoking Cessation Program has been established. This program offers individual and group counseling as well as custom smoking cessation plans. For more information on the program, contact the ETSU Health Education Coordinator Wyeth Lawson at 439-4500.

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