U of O eyeing total smoking ban

The University of Ottawa is considering a campus-wide smoking ban, but administratorsacknowledge enforcement will be a challenge because of the school's busy downtown location.

McMasterUniversity in Hamilton, Ont.,announced plans last week to ban smoking on all its campuses starting Jan.1, 2018.

We're a public campus,we're downtown,we don't have walls and wearen't a gated campus.- Michael Histed, University of Ottawa

Michael Histed,director of risk management at the University of Ottawa, said a survey conducted of students and staff in the spring found 69 per cent in favour of a complete smoking ban.

Administrators estimatethe campus is already 80 per cent smoke-free due to a nine-metre smoking restrictionaround its buildings.

The university's medical school at the General campus of theOttawa Hospital will also become smoke-free asOntario moves to prohibit smoking on all hospital properties in the new year.

Downtown location presents challenge

Histedacknowledgedthere will be challenges to overcome before thedowntown campusis declared entirely smoke-free.

"Enforcement is always a big issue. We're a public campus,we're downtown,we don't have walls and wearen't a gated campus," Histed said."So how do we deal with those types of issues?"

Histed said there are many questionsstill to be worked out, includingdeciding on possible penalties for peoplecaught smoking on campus.

He said he'd like to see smoking cessation programs such as Leave the Pack Behind, a provincially funded campaign aimed at students, expanded to include staff at the university.

Carleton, Algonquin to review policies

Histedacknowledge another hurdle will be deciding how the policy will apply to smokers of medical marijuana.

"It's something that is certainly being looked at."

Algonquin College, with campuses in Ottawa, Perth and Pembroke,has no immediate plansto change its smoking policy, which prohibits smoking within15 meters of buildings but does provide smoking shelters in designated areas.

The college has a mandatory reviewof its smoking policy set forMay 21, 2019.

Carleton University said there are no formal discussions about making its campus smoke-free. Amandatory reviewof itssmoking policy is set for October 2019.