By Keith Randall and Lesley Henton, Texas A&M University Division of Marketing & Communications
Texas A&M University will become a smoke-free and tobacco-free campus effective Jan. 1, 2020, President Michael K. Young announced last week. The initiative is in compliance with recommendations and requests from the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents.
The announcement reflects efforts concerning the health and well-being of students, faculty, staff, and visitors on the Texas A&M campus and across the United States. Currently, more than 480,000 people die each year from smoking; statistics show almost all of them started smoking before the age of 26.
“Across the nation, more than 2,000 universities have already become smoke-free and tobacco-free,” says Young. “If other institutions can make this transition, I am confident that Aggies will show their spirit by supporting this new policy and sharing news of this change. With your help, everyone who comes to Texas A&M will be able to enjoy a healthier and more comfortable campus community.”
On Oct. 1, the A&M System instituted a ban on vaping and e-cigarettes across all 11 universities and eight state agencies within the system.
The Jan. 1 policy additionally bans cigarettes, cigars, pipes, hookahs and water pipes, Bidis, Kreteks, smokeless tobacco including chew and snuff, and other nicotine and/or tobacco delivery products. This ban includes all Texas A&M University campuses including main campus and all College Station locations, all Health Science Center sites, the branch campuses at Galveston and Qatar, the Higher Education Center at McAllen, and other university sites.
Additional information can be found on the Tobacco-Free Policy Fact Sheet.
