Loyola University Maryland goes smoke-free

Loyola University Maryland is a smoke-free campus as of July 1, 2019. Inspired by Jesuit values and cura personalis, the initiative helps reduce the health risks related to smoking and secondhand smoke for the campus community.

In addition to cigarettes no longer being allowed on campus, vapes, e-cigs, and juuls will not be allowed. Although there will not be fines for smoking on campus, everyone is expected to respect the policy.

The initiative began in 2016 with the creation of a smoke-free task force comprised of students, faculty, staff, and administrators. The group, many of whom had personal connections to family and friends who have been impacted by smoking and second-hand smoke, drafted a policy after surveying the campus community. A year later, Loyola received a $20,000 grant from the American Cancer Society’s Tobacco-Free Generation Campus Initiative (TFGCI). 

Stephanie Regenold, director of student health and education services, along with Colleen Campbell, director of student athlete support services, spearheaded the efforts. 

“It’s exciting to see a policy that students and employees have been working on for the past few years, that serves to promote a healthy and safe campus environment, come to fruition,” said Regenold.

According to the American Cancer Society, more than one million of the nearly 20 million college and university students in the United States are projected to die prematurely from cigarette smoking. Approximately 90 percent of smokers start by age 18 and 99 percent start by age 26. The TFGCI was created to help accelerate and expand the implementation of tobacco-free college campuses.

Loyola joins more than 20 Maryland schools and more than 15 Jesuit schools in becoming smoke-free.

For additional information, go to https://www.loyola.edu/department/student-health/smoke-free.