Wright State goes tobacco free, banning cigarettes and other products

Wright State University officially became a tobacco free campus on Saturday.

Wright State University officially became a tobacco free campus on Saturday.

Wright State University is now tobacco-free and has banned the use of all tobacco products on the school’s Dayton and Lake campuses.

The ban also includes nicotine-based products, such as e-cigarettes. Nicotine-replacement gum, lozenges and patches, as well as other cessation products approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are still permitted though, according to WSU.

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Wright State offered courses to help students, staff and faculty to quit tobacco products earlier this year and additional classes will be offered this fall.

The policy shift, which WSU announced in November, officially took effect Saturday. WSU joins over 1,400 other colleges and universities in the United States that have gone tobacco free, according to the school.

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The change comes after the Ohio Board of Regents, now known as the department of higher education, in 2012 recommended all Ohio public universities become tobacco free. WSU officials began looking into the issue five years ago and conducted surveys before making the decision to go tobacco free, according to the school.

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Sinclair Community College became tobacco free Jan. 1. Miami University and Ohio State already are tobacco-free campuses.

The University of Dayton allows smoking in designated areas, but there is a wellness services effort to eventually make the campus tobacco free, according the university’s website.

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