Loyalist College smoking ban enforcement still unclear

By Ludwick Chapman

BELLEVILLE – Plans on how Loyalist College will enforce its smoking ban still seem foggy with the ban less than a month away.

“The enforcement piece has not been totally fleshed out. But from a really simple perspective is that although we heavily support the non-smoking campus initiative, we’re focusing on education and awareness versus strong enforcement and rules,” said Ryan Stoness, the college’s wellness coordinator.

Stoness, who has been the college’s spokesperson for the smoke-free initiative, admitted that there probably won’t be a set process for enforcement until the ban is in effect on Jan 1.

The college is also aware of the possible push-back they will receive from staff and students. Stoness said that the college plans on dealing with this by making everyone aware of the changes on campus.

One of the ways they plan on spreading the message will be through a student smoking awareness team.

“We’ve prepared them in the last two weeks to basically start setting up awareness tables and so the idea is that they’re going to be all across the school. We’ll be setting up tables to pass out information on the change of policy.” Stoness added that they will also spread awareness on the tools and resources that are available for both staff and students for quitting smoking.

A senior leadership council made of the college’s president, vice-presidents and leaders of each functional area of the college will continue discussion on further concerns and issues brought up by the student body.