![\"#SmokeFreeUTC\"](\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2018\/01\/smokefree-hashtag.png\")
<\/p>\nIn one year, the only smoke you\u2019ll see on the UTC campus will be car exhaust or school-sponsored bonfires. Cigarettes and other items that produce smoke will be banned.<\/p>\n
On Jan. 1, 2019, the UTC campus is going smoke-free, which means no cigarettes, cigars, pipes or vaping equipment. Chewing and similar types of smokeless tobacco will not be affected.<\/p>\n
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Officials in charge of the smoke-free push insist it\u2019s not a face slap to shame or punish smokers. \u201cThis isn\u2019t about how the university doesn\u2019t want smokers on campus. This is for the health of the campus and trying to create a healthier environment,\u201d says Carol Oglesby,\u00a0<\/strong>assistant director of Health Education and Wellness Promotion\u00a0and co-chair of the drive, titled Smoke-Free UTC<\/em>.<\/p>\n UTC is the first school in the UT System to start a drive to a smoke-free campus, and the others are watching.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s going to go smoothly. The thing is, we\u2019re preparing to give people a year to adjust,\u201d Oglesby says.<\/p>\n Over the next 12 months, Smoke-Free UTC<\/em> will provide enough information, education and support to make the transition relatively painless, she says. There will be seminars, workshops, campus-wide emails and other events to fully explain the smoke-free program and how it will work.<\/p>\n There will be smoking cessation programs, support groups and counseling help, she adds. There also will be time to reach out to medical personnel if someone needs pharmaceutical help to quit smoking.<\/p>\n UTC doesn\u2019t have a large population of smokers in the first place, statistics show. According to surveys of students, faculty and staff, only about 7 percent of the campus community are regular smokers.<\/p>\n