Sooners adhere to tobacco ban policy, OU officials said

A majority of OU employees and students seem to be observing the tobacco ban policy, as OU police have had limited interactions with policy breakers, and landscaping workers are spending less time picking up cigarette butts, OU officials said. Since the tobacco ban policy was implemented July 1, OU police have responded to about 12 instances of tobacco use on campus, OU police department spokesman Lt. Bruce Chan said. Citizens either flag down officers on patrol or call the non-emergency hotline to report the incident, Chan said.

Every officer response to tobacco use has been a verbal warning as of now, he said. OU police have not issued any citations. Landscaping and Grounds director Allen King said he has seen an improvement on campus since the policy was put into effect. The common clean up areas are noticeably cleaner, King said. There is more time to work on the gardens and other ground maintenance since workers aren't having to pick up butts and drive around to empty ashtrays, King said. “It gives us more time,” King said. “It's an hour to an hour and a half a week that we could be doing something more productive.”

King also said some of his 65 full-time employees are making efforts to quit, such as attending clinics set up by facilities management or using electronic cigarettes. King himself smoked but quit cold turkey more than 20 years ago, he said. “I completely understand what they are doing,” King said. “I always hated the phrase, 'I'm trying to quit.' You have got to have the mindset to quit.” Each time information is available about tools that smokers can use to cut back or quit, King said he takes the fliers and puts it into the mailbox slots of his employees.

The tobacco ban policy was implemented July 1 after OU put together a task force to create a policy. The task force recommended a policy with smoking areas, but an executive order from Gov. Mary Fallin mandating that smoking not be allowed on state property overruled the smoking areas. OU's tobacco ban policy can be enforced by any university official, and breaking the policy can result in a verbal warning up to a $50, according to the policy. OU's tobacco ban policy prohibits both cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. OU's tobacco policy truly will be a success if it can get just one, maybe two, people to quit, King said. “I've seen what [smoking] can do to people,” he said. “It's five dollars a pack...it's just not worth it.”