DAILY 49ER California State University, Long Beach
Vol. LXVII, Issue 63
www.daily49er.com
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
no smoking
P hoto by Trang L e | Daily 49er
Senior communications major Eric Kim takes a smoking break in front of the library on Monday.
Tobacco-free transformation CSULB will follow more than 400 American colleges and universities that have already banned all forms of tobacco – including e-cigarettes – from their campuses. By Seth Perlstein Contributing Writer
T
he unmistakable smell of e-cigarette vapor wafted from around the corner of the Vivian Engineering Center at California State University, Long Beach. The invisible, nanoparticle- and carcinogen-infused exhalation flowed freely down the narrow corridor, past the glass-encased Mars rover exhibit, and into the semi-enclosed quad along Deukmejian Way. At the inception point of the gaseous trail sat Hernan Lozada, a CSULB civil engineering major, who prepared his digital nicotine-delivery device for another hit. But Lozada, and other 49ers who smoke, won’t be able to indulge his habit on campus for much longer. This fall, The Beach will transform itself into a tobacco-free university during a three-year process. “I don’t like it, because it takes away my smoking,” Lozada said disapprov-
News 2
ingly. “I am addicted.” More than 400 American colleges and universities have already banned all forms of tobacco – including e-cigarettes – from their campuses, according
to the American Lung Association. California State University, Fullerton became the first smoke-free CSU in 2013. Other CSUs such as California State University, Northridge, San Diego
State University and Sonoma State University soon followed suit. CSULB will join its smoke-free Southern California brethren when it rolls out its new tobacco policy in Au-
$118,850 for Breathe campaign The anti-smoking campaign aims to eliminate tobacco and e-cigarette use on campus by the fall semester. By Sara DeLeon Staff Writer
A new campaign implemented by the Cal State Long Beach Tobacco and Smoke Free Task Force is aiming to give CSULB students a healthier campus environment. The Breathe Campaign will officially launch in the Fall
Arts & Life 4
2016 semester, but President Jane Close Conoley has already informed the campus and is raising awareness on the CSULB website and Beachboard. Enforcement of the policy will not take place all at once, according to Mike Uhlenkamp, exec-
see SMOKED, page 3
Opinions 6
gust, which will begin with the removal of all ashtrays and designated smoking areas from campus. But the new program will have a three-year grace period that will allow smokers to continue their on-campus nicotine intake unpunished through 2018. “[Jane Conoley, CSULB president] really wanted it to be a positive experience,” said Scott Apel, CSULB associate vice president of human resources. “She didn’t want to punish smokers. She didn’t want to stigmatize people. She wanted us to help people with education and cessation efforts.” CSULB students voted to ban smoking – which causes more annual deaths than HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor-vehicle injuries and firearm-related incidents combined, according to the Center for Disease Control and
see TOBACCO, page 3
Sports 8