The House Higher Education Committee has passed a bill that would snuff out smoking on all University of Hawaii premises even as UH officials are working to eliminate smoking on the Manoa campus.
House Bill 2077, forwarded Feb. 4 for a vote by the House, would place a ban on the use of tobacco products and electronic cigarettes at all facilities owned or operated by the university. The bill also calls for UH to require tobacco cessation programs for interested employees and to place signs prohibiting smoking.
David Ericson, UH-Manoa Faculty Senate chairman, said in an email interview he’s unsure why the lawmakers want to get involved.
"While the Legislature has every right to intervene into a state agency such as UH, it’s unclear to me why our legislators would want to bother on a lesser issue that is internal to UH," Ericson said.
Ericson said the Manoa campus is currently covered by a state law that prohibits smoking in public buildings and within 20 feet of an entrance, but the university is considering its own policy.
"I don’t see anyone on the UH-Manoa campus flouting the state law at all," he said.
Rep. Bert Kobayashi (D, Diamond Head-Kaimuki-Kapahulu), one of the bill’s co-introducers, said the state is getting involved due to a rising trend in smoke-free campuses nationwide.
According to Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, 446 U.S. college or university campuses adopted smoke-free policies in 2010. That number increased to 1,182 campuses as of January.
Kapiolani Community College placed designated smoking areas on its campus in fall 2012 and then ditched them to become the first UH campus to implement a campuswide ban last semester.
"Kapiolani Community College sees itself as a healthy campus," said Carol Hoshiko, KCC’s dean of college and community relations. "We consider (smoking) not healthy."
Enforcement is another issue. Those who are caught smoking at KCC are told to stop by faculty but apparently less often by their peers.
KCC student TK Teixeira, 18, said he’s seen students smoke on campus. He knows about the ban but chooses not to tell smokers to stop.
"I kind of just keep to myself," said Teixeira, a nursing major. "I see teachers and security guards telling smokers to stop. I think having the designated smoking areas are better."
Even at UH-Manoa, nonsmoking students don’t normally approach students who smoke. Manoa student Summer Yamane, 18, said she doesn’t want to tell someone she sees on campus to stop smoking because "it’s not easy," adding, "You don’t want to come across as rude."
Hoshiko said most of the students caught smoking at KCC are just not aware that a ban exists. She said that even though there’s no disciplinary consequence, the students she’s seen smoking comply with faculty and security’s requests to stop.
UH-Manoa’s Faculty Senate removed a penalty clause in the proposed smoking ban, which was meant to go into effect January but was put on hold for review.
"The UHM Faculty Senate felt that a citation or penalty enforcement aspect to a UHM smoking policy was too abrupt a change, inconsistent with state law and unfair to campus visitors," Ericson said.
Kobayashi said HB 2077 does not include a penalty clause, either. He said almost all no-smoking laws are self-enforcing — relying on the community for enforcement rather than police officers — although fines could be issued. It would be up to UH to establish a form of consequence if it wants to, Kobayashi said.
"The vast majority of people follow nonsmoking policies," Kobayashi said. "That’s how it is across the board, just having the law by itself and establishing a social norm that is self-enforcing, not a criminalization."
But students say having some form of disciplinary enforcement is necessary to make a no-smoking policy effective. Teixeira suggested that a three-strikes-you’re-out policy or temporary suspension would deter students from smoking.
Yamane said it’s about time the state gets involved.
"As a student, (inhaling smoke) should be the last thing on my mind," she said. "It’s better if the state handles this. I don’t think UH has much control over its students. You see all these new buildings getting built. Get your priorities straight."
Ericson said UH-Manoa’s Faculty Senate is still working with the UH administration on a no-smoking policy.
"Nothing is settled yet, from our perspective, though we have had very good discussions together," Ericson said.
