Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • University Statements
  • Syracuse University Impact
  • |
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Campus & Community

Campus Becomes Smoke- and Tobacco-Free July 1

Tuesday, June 30, 2015, By Kevin Morrow
Share

Syracuse University officially becomes a smoke-free and tobacco-free campus on July 1 as a new institutional policy goes into effect promoting a healthy, productive and respectful environment.

smokefreeSmoking and the use of all tobacco products—including cigarettes, cigars, snuff, pipes, chewing tobacco and products that imitate the act of smoking, such as vapor cigarettes—will be prohibited on all property owned, leased or managed by Syracuse University, including outdoor spaces and University-owned vehicles.

The Carrier Dome, Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel and Conference Center, Drumlins and Syracuse Stage will remain smoke-free inside. Outside spaces at those venues will be exempt from this policy during events through July 2017. The phased exemption for the Carrier Dome will extend to event attendees in parking lots and in transit to and from the Dome. The policy will be explored for feasibility on Syracuse-affiliated campuses in international settings.

Cigarette butt receptacles are being removed from University spaces on July 1, and informational signage about SU’s status as a tobacco- and smoke-free campus has begun appearing in buildings and public spaces.

As of this past January, the University began offering free, six-week smoking cessation programs on campus for students, faculty and staff who desire to quit smoking or refrain from other tobacco use. Each program—consisting of seven one-hour classes in a six-week timeframe—is facilitated by Cynthia Cary, director of smoking cessation at SUNY Upstate Medical University.

According to the most recent data from the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation, as of April 2, 1,543 U.S. and tribal colleges and universities had gone smoke-free, while 1,043 were fully tobacco-free.

The concept of a tobacco-free campus has been a topic of consideration among groups of students, faculty and staff for more than a decade. A campus wellness survey conducted in 2010 showed that 58 percent of students and 71 percent of faculty and staff supported policies to limit tobacco use.

Signs have been posted around campus indicating the University's new status.

Signs have been posted around campus indicating the University’s new status.

The effort for SU to become smoke- and tobacco-free began in earnest in January 2008 with the formation of the Syracuse University Campus Sustainability Task Force on Campus Smoking and its detailed report on the topic to the University Senate. Many additional steps in the process followed, including the formation in 2010 of a Wellness Task Force charged with developing a strategic plan to identify and recommend a series of wellness programs and/or pilots to promote, create and support a healthier campus community and to reduce long-term health care expenditures.

“Implementation of the tobacco- and smoke-free campus is the result of more than a decade of conversation, consideration and hard work by multiple dedicated task forces of students, faculty and staff,” says Gail Grozalis, executive director of the University Wellness Initiative. “This policy reflects the ongoing investment the University has in the health and wellness of its members by helping to ensure a healthy, productive, respectful environment in which to learn, live and work.”

Additional information—including an FAQ and communications toolkits to help supervisors, employees and students communicate and engage in conversation about the policy—is available in the Tobacco-Free Campus portion of the University’s Wellness website.

  • Author

Kevin Morrow

  • Recent
  • Syracuse Stage Announces Cast and Production Team of Musical ‘The Hello Girls’
    Friday, August 8, 2025, By Joanna Penalva
  • Expert Available for New Tariffs on India
    Friday, August 8, 2025, By Ellen Mbuqe
  • Syracuse Views Summer 2025
    Friday, August 8, 2025, By News Staff
  • Sport Management Professor Calls Historic First in MLB ‘Overdue’
    Thursday, August 7, 2025, By Keith Kobland
  • Scott Tainsky’s Research Focus Aligns Perfectly With New Falk College of Sport
    Thursday, August 7, 2025, By Matt Michael

More In Campus & Community

Scott Tainsky’s Research Focus Aligns Perfectly With New Falk College of Sport

The earliest memories Scott Tainsky has involve playing sports and watching the golden age of Big East Conference basketball with stars like Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin and Syracuse University star Pearl Washington. Now, as a father of two children who play…

Maxwell School Honors Alumnus Elliot Stamler ’60 With Cramer Horizon Award

The latest recipient of the Maxwell School’s Cramer Horizon Award has embodied the ideals of its namesakes, Gerald ’52, H’10 and Daphna Cramer, through his professional endeavors, philanthropy and commitment to engaged citizenship. Throughout his remarkable career, honoree Elliot J….

Whitman School Honored for Mental Health Excellence

The Whitman School received the 2025 Excellence in Mental Health and Well-Being Award from Insight into Academia magazine, a measure of an institution’s individual programs and initiatives that significantly advance the core values of inclusive excellence and belonging through programs,…

Construction Continues at Stadium Place, Center Crosswalk to Close Aug. 8

Campus Planning, Design and Construction, CenTrio Energy, and local contractors are continuing their work on the campus steam distribution system in the West Campus area. To continue necessary sidewalk replacements along the east boundary of the Raynor Avenue lot, the…

Whitman School Celebrates Record Fundraising Year, Builds Momentum for Transformation

As institutions of higher education adapt to rapid changes and evolving student needs across the country, alumni, parents and donors of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management have responded with record-setting philanthropic support and engagement. Their historic commitment continues…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • X
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2025 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.