At the start of the new year, the Mount Carmel and York Hill campuses will join the North Haven Campus, which has been tobacco-free since 2012 and has received CEO Cancer Gold Standard accreditation from the CEO Roundtable on Cancer.

“The research is unequivocal on the deleterious health consequences of smoking and nicotine products,” Olian said. “We have an obligation to all members of our community to support a healthy learning, working and social environment for our students, faculty, staff and visitors. This change is one more way in which Quinnipiac University promotes the well-being of our community.”

The new policy will prohibit the use of all tobacco products on all campuses, including but not limited to: cigarettes, electronic cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos, hookah-smoke products, pipes and oral tobacco. The policy also covers any product that mimics tobacco, contains tobacco flavoring or delivers nicotine for any purpose other than smoking cessation.

By taking this important step, Quinnipiac joins more than 1,910 other universities that are tobacco free, according to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation.

Tobacco use is a leading cause of cancer and of death from cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute. People who use tobacco products or are regularly exposed to second-hand smoke are at an increased risk because chemicals in tobacco products contain more than 60 known carcinogens, according to the American Cancer Society.

Worldwide tobacco use causes nearly 6 million deaths per year, and according to the Centers for Disease Control, current trends show that tobacco use will cause more than 8 million deaths annually by 2030.

Quinnipiac is committed to supporting our students, faculty and staff who need assistance to quit smoking. The university will offer smoking cessation programs as we transition to a tobacco-free university.