Athlone institute of technology goes completely tobaccofree

Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) has become the first third level institution in Ireland to completely ban tobacco products on its campus. The ban includes e-cigarettes.
The tobacco-free campus is part of AIT’s Healthy Campus initiative. A survey undertaken amongst staff and students earlier this year highlighted that 80% of the college community are non-smokers, while one-third of respondents who are daily smokers said that they would like to quit. Less than one-third (31%) of respondents were opposed to the move towards tobacco-free status.
AIT president, Prof. Ciarán Ó Catháin, said: “This is a very good day for all of our students and staff, as well as the wide number of visitors to the institute. A tobacco-free campus will provide a healthier, cleaner and safer environment for smokers and non-smokers alike.
“When we surveyed the campus community, the overwhelming preference was to go tobacco-free. This sends out a strong signal in terms of how we are prioritising health and healthy living. It also complements the extensive investment which we have made in terms of our sporting facilities, which are amongst the best in the country,” the president stated.
Healthy Campus coordinator, Anne Cooney, said that AIT’s Tobacco-Free Campus would “protect all the members of our community from unwanted and involuntary exposure to tobacco and passive smoke. Furthermore, it will provide the motivation for tobacco users to get the help they need to quit for good.”
Explaining how the policy will be enforced, Ms Cooney said that it will be on the basis of “appealing to people’s better nature, rather than by imposing a series of penalties. This will be supported by an ongoing information campaign, as well as volunteers and information officers who will help get the message across.”
Explaining why e-cigarettes are included in the ban, Ms Cooney said that: “The scientific evidence about the health effects of consuming e-cigarettes is unclear. At this point, we do not know that they are not dangerous to people’s health. There is a further reason for prohibiting them, namely that they normalise the act of smoking, which runs counter to the support mechanisms we have put in place to help people quit tobacco.”
According to AIT Students’ Union president, Kevin Ronan: “The Tobacco-Free Campus will provide a learning environment free of the dangers of second hand smoke for our members. We are looking forward to working closely with the Student Health Centre and the Healthy Campus Officer to promote smoking cessation and education sessions which will help students realise the risks associated with smoking and start them on a journey to a healthier lifestyle. This policy is in line with our continued efforts in health promotion and education,” he stated.
Information videos about AIT’s Tobacco-Free Campus are available on AIT’s YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/AthloneIT.
AIT’s move towards a tobacco-free campus is in line with proposals to make Ireland tobacco-free by 2025. More than 3,500 deaths have been avoided since the introduction of the workplace smoking ban in 2004, according to a recent study.