Smoking tougher in UNC system

Ban will cover all state buildings

Smokers may soon have to walk a bit farther to light up a cigarette on UNC system campuses.

Many universities already outlaw smoking in main buildings and some dormitories.

But under a new law approved this summer, smoking will be banned in all state buildings, including those on the campuses of the University of North Carolina system, starting in January. Some spaces in campus residence halls will still be open to smokers but will go smoke-free next school year.

Another new law gives campus administrators in the UNC system authority to limit smoking up to 100 feet outside buildings.

UNC-Charlotte's Student Senate has recommended that the university suggest a 10-foot smoke-free zone in front of buildings, rather than a ban. University officials will spend the coming months weighing how to respond to the new laws, said David Broome, UNCC's student counsel.

Limits elsewhere

Other UNC campuses have already moved on smoking limits.

Appalachian State University in Boone banned smoking in its residence halls starting this school year, and officials will seek input on further changes this semester.

East Carolina University in Greenville imposed a 25-foot smoke-free zone around its facilities this summer; eventually administrators hope to extend it to 100 feet.

Meanwhile, a proposal from UNC-Chapel Hill would ban smoking from the vast majority of campus. The 100-foot limit would cover most of the university's grounds.

"Increasing the no-smoking zone would significantly reduce the potential for exposure to secondhand smoke and reinforce our dedication to a healthy work and learning environment," Chancellor James Moeser said in a letter asking for campus support of the proposal.

The university's faculty and staff have backed the plan, while students may weigh in at two forums scheduled for this week.

N.C. State University has not yet proposed a plan for its outdoor areas, officials said.

3 in 10 smoked

Nationwide, nearly 31 percent of college students surveyed said they smoked in 2006, including 9 percent who reported smoking daily, according to the "Monitoring the Future" survey conducted last year by the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.

More than 300 colleges and universities have policies restricting smoking on campus or in campus housing, according to the California-based American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation. The list doesn't include colleges that have banned smoking inside buildings except for housing.

Bronson Frick, associate director at the foundation, said the new state laws are a step forward but "will leave North Carolina's colleges and universities behind the rest of the country in terms of having the right to simply make their campuses smoke-free in their entirety."

The state law barring smoking in UNC buildings is part of a larger bill to ban smoking in all state government buildings. Charlotte and Mecklenburg County leaders have sought authority to curb smoking in local establishments, but a bill to do that failed this summer.