Kingsborough To Ban Smoking Campus-Wide

The clock is ticking! There are only 215 days left for smokers to enjoy a cigarette on the Kingsborough Community College campus (2001 Oriental Boulevard).

Working alongside The Center for Tobacco Policy, the City University of New York (CUNY) has chosen to ban smoking on all of its facilities system-wide, and that includes the Manhattan Beach-based community college.

The policy bans the use of tobacco on all grounds and facilities under CUNY’s jurisdiction, both indoor and outdoor. It also prohibits tobacco industry promotions and marketing on campus properties, and tobacco industry sponsorship of athletic events and athletes. The ban makes CUNY the largest smoke-free public university system in the United States.

Kingborough Community College’s Coordinator of Student Life, Maria Patestas, said she doesn’t believe it will be a hard transition for students.

“The only time I really see the smokers outside on campus is on rainy days,” she said. “They’ll stand closer to the entrances of buildings, taking cover.”

But should there be a designated area for smokers on the Brooklyn campus? Patestas noted it wouldn’t be a bad idea, but that brings its own issues. “I mean how could you even regulate that?” she asked.

The origins of the new ban go back to January 2011, when CUNY’s Board of Trustees voted to approve a proposal made by a committee of faculty, staff and students.

For now, student smokers can enjoy the spring-like weather and a pull of their favorite cigarette. But in September this will all change. Verbal warnings will be submitted to students for now, but in the future Patestas does not dismiss the possibility of a fine system being implemented.

“We have to see how it goes first once September comes, but I think it’ll be harder for faculty and staff rather than students,” Patestas noted.