The smoking debate is lighting up a discussion on campus due to potentially foggy enforcement of university policies.
Smokers crowding the entrances to buildings on Carleton’s campus is a persistent problem, said Carleton engineering student Luke Morrison.
“People smoking usually crowd around the doors at Carleton, making it difficult to allow people to enter the library without inhaling the fumes,” Morrison said in an email. “Often, they will even be blocking the door, and you will have to ask them to move.”
He said he is also concerned about the health of students with respiratory illnesses.
“It is illegal and it is wrong to crowd the library entrance, and it is harmful to students who may have asthma,” he said.
Morrison said he sees the issue as Carleton’s enforcement of its smoking policy. It states smokers must be more than 10 metres away from any door or open window.
“We need to enforce penalties for students who crowd the doorways and blow smoke. Fines, warnings and suspensions if needed,” he said.
Morrison expressed his concerns in an email to Nancy Delcellier, the assistant director of environmental health and safety.
In her response to his email, Delcellier said “everyone should take responsibility for a safe and healthy campus environment.”
Morrison said the response he got from the university was “vague and indirect.”
In an interview, Delcellier said there are three ways Carleton enforces its smoking policy.
“The first thing you’re looking at is an individual to take action. That is if you have anybody breaching a university or health and safety issue you want people to speak out and say, ‘No this is wrong,’” Delcellier said.
The second step is to talk to the building authority.
“If you have a problem, you will deal with the supervisor of the area, generally the building authority,” Delcellier said.
Head librarian Margaret Haines said she received Morrison’s concerns in an email from Delcellier. Haines is aware of the problem outside the library doors, but she said there is little she can do to stop people from smoking there.
“They’re supposed to stand 10 metres away from the door,” Haines said. “It is very difficult because where our circulation staff are located they can’t always see if there are people smoking.”
The third part of applying the policy rests with the department of university safety, according to Delcellier.
“The department of university safety is the enforcement piece of the policy,” she said. “They have the ability to issue tickets.”
The fine for breaking Carleton’s smoking policy is a $50 ticket, she added.
Delcellier passed Morrison’s email to Alan Burns, Carleton’s director of safety.
“He is working with his staff, they are going to try and increase their patrolling of the areas,” Delcellier said.
While the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) does not run any anti-smoking campaigns, they plan to work with several organizations on the issue, said vice-president (student issues) Maddy Porter in an email.
CUSA president Folarin Odunayo urged students to follow university regulations on smoking zones, but said CUSA believes “students can make up their own minds on whether to be a smoker or not.”
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