SMS
RSS feeds
Reddit
NewsvineThe School of Medicine has instituted a new ban on smoking in all parts of the Medical School campus. The new policy, set to take effect in August, will ban smoking outdoors within the vicinity of the Medical School, according to Philip Pizzo, Dean of the School of Medicine.
Enlarge
“In addition to the smoking ban that currently exists inside of buildings, the School of Medicine is planning to institute a ban on smoking and tobacco use that extends both inside and outside of its buildings on the Medical School campus,” Pizzo said in an email to The Daily. “The School is also in discussion with the hospitals about a similar ban on outside smoking for the entire Medical Center.”
Pizzo said the School of Medicine is in the process of determining how far to extend the ban; he added that announcements about the new policy will be made once administrators firm up the specific boundaries. Pizzo said the new ban is intended to be a statement about the serious health risks posed by smoking.
“While there are understandably different points of view regarding the acceptance of research funds from a source like the tobacco industry, there is virtual unanimity of opinion that the tobacco industry produces a product that is dangerous to human health,” Pizzo said. “As a School of Medicine that is seeking ways to promote the health of our community and nation, we believe that smoking and tobacco use are sufficiently detrimental to health that they should not be allowed.”
There “is an increasing body of data indicating that second hand tobacco smoke in outdoor settings increases the risk of disease,” he added.
At last Thursday’s Faculty Senate meeting, Pizzo brought up the plans to expand the Medical School’s non-smoking zones during a discussion about the University’s policy on research funding from tobacco companies. When asked whether the new ban would extend to Stanford Hospital, Pizzo joked that smokers would find their way to the Hospital before long.
While Pizzo has been outspoken in his endorsement of the new ban, there is some uncertainty as to how far the ban should ultimately reach among those who work and study at the Medical School.
“I think that banning smoking within, like, twenty feet of a building is great,” said Chris Caires, a chemistry graduate student who works at the Medical School’s Lucas Center. “But if someone wanted to stand in a field or parking lot or a designated smoking area, [then] they should.”
Others, though, said they support the ban.
“In terms of around here, I’m not a smoker and I don’t really like having smokers around me because they really do put you in an environment [you don’t choose],” said first-year Medical student Jacqueline Ng. “Designated smoking areas would be fine, but if they banned it completely I wouldn’t really mind.”