Smoking inside university buildings has been banned for a while, but the RUG’s smoking policy does not mention lighting up near building entrances. ‘But were are getting more comments about it,’ says spokesperson Riepko Buikema. ‘On Twitter, for example, we get several messages a year from people saying it bothers them. They say it behoves us to do something about it.’
Some faculties moved the cigarette receptacles farther away to ensure that visitors do not have to go through a cloud of smoke to enter the buildings. But now the university has decided on permanent measures.
Smoking barrier
At the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, they started experimenting with a ‘line’ on the sidewalk: pictograms indicate that smoking is banned beyond the line. ‘This test had positive results’, the RUG’s Health and Environmental Service says in a report. ‘Smokers respect this ‘line’ most of the time, and for enforcers, it is also clear where smokers are or are not allowed to stand. That means less of a nuisance at the entrances.’
The Board of Directors has decided that the smoking barrier will now be placed 20 to 30 metres from the entrance to every building. Furthermore, the RUG will offer a ‘how to quit smoking’ course to its employees.
