WMU's tobacco-free status is topic of campus forums

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Two open forums are planned for Wednesday, July 23, to update members of the Western Michigan University community on the University's Sept. 1 move to become a tobacco-free campus.

Sessions will be held at noon and at 4:30 p.m. in the Brown and Gold Room on the second floor of the Bernhard Center. The hour-long sessions, presented by members of WMU's Tobacco-Free Implementation Committee, will feature information for faculty and staff members on such topics as cessation services, tips for supervisors and faculty on how to work with smokers, tip sheets and toolkits being developed, and frequently asked questions on enforcement and social norming.

The session presenters also will share details on communication plans for the weeks leading up to Sept. 1, and have planned each session to accommodate a question-and-answer period.

Acting at its December 2013 meeting, the WMU Board of Trustees approved a recommendation for WMU to become tobacco free. Effective Sept. 1, the use of tobacco products is not permitted indoors or outdoors on any University property. The use of tobacco products will only be permitted in enclosed personal vehicles.

Tobacco products are defined to include the following: cigarettes, electronic-cigarettes, cigars, bidis, snuff, snus, water pipes, pipes, hookahs, chew and any other non-combustible tobacco products.