Enforcement of FIU’s smoke- and tobacco-free regulation begins

After an extended grace period designed to educate the university community about FIU’s smoke- and tobacco-free regulation, the university has begun enforcing the ban effective immediately.

“To my knowledge, we are the first university in Florida that has an official enforcement mechanism in place,” says Mariela Gabaroni, assistant director of University Health Services and chairperson of the Smoke Free Task Force. More than 12 Florida colleges and universities have enacted some type of smoking and/or tobacco ban on their campuses.

FIU became a tobacco- and smoke-free campus in January 2011. Under the regulation, smoking and use of tobacco products (including electronic cigarettes) are prohibited in all areas of FIU’s campuses. The university has created a healthier campus environment for students, staff, faculty and visitors because of it, says Gabaroni, and shown a greater commitment to environmental sustainability.

“We’ve found that most members of the university community have respected the new regulation,” she says. “Unfortunately, some individuals have not. That’s necessitated the need for a more formal enforcement process.”

Police service technicians or police officers who observe individuals smoking or using tobacco-related products on any FIU campus will issue a Notice of Violation to those individuals. The entire process is as follows:

Step 1: First-time offenders will receive a warning. The Notice of Violation will provide individuals with information on resources available to help manage tobacco use and/or quit if so desired.

Step 2: Individuals violating the regulation a second time will be required to attend two smoking/tobacco management/dependence consultations with University Health Services. These classes are intended to help individuals manage their tobacco use. Individuals can sign up for these classes with University Health Services by calling their offices at Modesto A. Maidique Campus at 305-348-2401, Ext. 5, or the Biscayne Bay Campus at 305-919-5620, Ext. 4. Individuals must register for these classes within 14 days of receiving the Notice of Violation and complete all classes within 45 calendar days of the notice. Failure to comply will result in the second violation automatically becoming a third violation.

Step 3: For the third violation, employees will be referred to the appropriate area to begin the progressive disciplinary process and students will be referred to the Office of Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution for appropriate discipline.

In addition to the assistance provided by University Health Services that can be found here, wellness assistants and peer educators will be going out in the community with a continued focus on educating students and employees on the hazards of smoking and inform users of the numerous available resources that can help them manage or quit tobacco use.

“We know that managing or quitting tobacco use can be a difficult thing,” says Gabaroni. “We greatly appreciate the efforts made by those who have adhered to this regulation.”

Nationally, nearly 800 universities nationwide are smoke free and more than 500 are also tobacco free. Gabaroni says FIU’s enforcement program is similar to those at universities that enforce their ban with one major difference. “Some of them actually have fines attached to the violations,” she says. “We didn’t want to fine our students, faculty and staff.”

Individuals with questions are being asked to contact the Division of Human Resources at 305-348-2181 or University Health Services at 305-348-2401, Ext. 5.