Imperial to go smoke-free*

It’s official: Imperial will implement a smoking ban on all College campuses and properties starting the 1st of August.

The move which has been in the making for quite some time now, is a result of various lengthy consultations including a ‘referendum’ that took place earlier last term.

The referendum was meant to gauge the feelings of the student body and asked the question “Should smoking be allowed on campus?” A total of 748 students (or 4.5% of the student population) participated, with 219 voting “Yes”, 421 students voting “No” and a further 108 voting “No, except for Beit Quad”

The referendum results were taken to a College Working Group, which has been discussing the issue since January 2016.

The Working Group’s decision was finalised and made public earlier this week, with an announcement declaring that starting next August, “all Imperial campuses and properties will be smoke-free. This means that smoking by staff and students will not be permitted on or within 20 metres of College land.”

The ban is expected to be implemented through the cooperation of staff and students “but particularly staff in management positions”. If confronted with individuals who refuse to take their smoking elsewhere, Imperial students and staff are encouraged to contact College. It is unclear what the role of security will be in monitoring smoking not only on campus, but especially off campus, given that the South Kensington campus neighbours extremely busy public venues such as The Royal Albert Hall and the Science Museum. A college spokesperson however did tell felix “it will not be principally the responsibility of security staff.”

What if you’re only a casual smoker that just partakes in a little bit of chain smoking after you’ve had a few? Fear not, as smoking will be permitted in Beit Quad on Wednesday and Friday evenings during term-time when you have to pay to get in.

Imperial’s smoking ban has been branded as an attempt to fulfil its ”duty of care to staff and students”. The driver behind the ban is the recognition of smoking (and its passive counterpart) as the leading preventable cause of disease and death in the UK.

Although vaping is already prohibited inside College buildings, a gap in health and tobacco related legislation means vaping is not included in the ban, and students and staff will be allowed to vape on College Land as long as it does not break existing rules.

With Imperial trying to fulfil its ”duty of care to staff and students” the question arises, what about its duty to society? A felix investigation last year (Issue 1636) uncovered that £2.3 million was invested into tobacco companies via intermediate funds, which is in direct contradiction with the smoking ban and “benefit of society” sentiment prevalent in the institution’s mission statement. It remains unlikely that we will soon see a divestment from the tobacco industry in conjunction to the smoking ban.