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# SMC set to restrict smoking sites
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/smc-set-to-restrict-smoking-sites-2/
- Published: 2007-06-11T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T01:02:46.000Z
- Author: Kevin Herrera
- Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import

SMC Smokers will only be allowed to light up in certain areas here under a proposal being considered tonight by the board of trustees.

The areas haven’t been established yet, however, Santa Monica College President Dr. Chui Tsang said it won’t be a total drag to take a drag on campus — just a little more inconvenient.

“We are looking for some place out of the main drag so that smoke is not drifting and affecting a lot of people,” Tsang said. “We definitely want to discourage people from smoking, but we don’t want to be punitive about it.”

The change in policy reflects a change in attitude amongst students and administrators at the college. It was sparked by a vote from students in April in which they overwhelmingly voiced their support for a smoke-free campus. Off the 2,229 students to vote 62.9 percent were in favor of an all-out ban.

Student government followed, voting in favor of a smoke-free campus, although there were some concerns from representatives who felt more polling needed to be done to see if a ban was what students really wanted.

After being reviewed by SMC’s Associated Students, the issue went before the District Planning and Advisory Council, comprised of faculty, classified employees and students, which voted to move forward with the ban.

“I think it’s the right way to go,”said Leah Jamieson, a student at the college. “That’s just where society is headed. Smoking isn’t cool and it hasn’t been for a while... At least with the designated areas, the college is trying to be fair, but protect the majority of us who don’t smoke. We’ll just have to wait and see if it works.”

> “This is where we want to go as a college.” — Aminoff added

> “In my personal view, I will vote for the resolution because it is in keeping with an overall wellness policy that we are trying to develop,”

Concerned about whether or not being smoke free would force students into surrounding neighborhoods, turning them into ashtrays, college officials felt a compromise was in order and drafted changes to include the designated smoking areas.

“We had to assume that a number of people were going to continue to smoke and we wouldn’t want to have people going off campus to smoke in the neighborhoods. We had to strike a balance,” said Trustee Nancy Greenstein.

The change is also expected to make the rule easier to enforce. Under the current rule, smoking is prohibited in any college building, vehicle or facility, or within 25 feet of any main exit, entrance or operable window of a public building. Many students complained that the rule is rarely enforced.

“Are we going to ask campus police to bring out yardsticks to see how far people are from buildings?” asked Susan Aminoff, president of the board of trustees. “The enforcement problem is huge. By setting up designated areas, we think it will be easier for people to enforce.

City Hall made headlines late last year when it passed a comprehensive smoking ban that includes the Third Street Promenade, all outdoor dining areas and service lines, Farmers’ Markets, as well as any area that is within 20 feet of any entrances or windows open to the public. Smoking is already prohibited in all parks, the beach and on portions of the Santa Monica Pier. That is in addition to a statewide ban on smoking inside government buildings and bars and restaurants.

As far as colleges go, many have jumped on board the smoke free bandwagon. Some have enacted bands college-wide, while others still allow it in parking lots.

“Given the comprehensive outdoor secondhand smoke policy the City of Santa Monica and the growing body of science about the dangers of secondhand smoke in outdoor settings, the time seems right for Santa Monica College to go smoke-free,” said Robert Berger with Healthier Solutions, a Santa Monica based advocacy group that has been working with City Hall on raising awareness about the ban.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 11, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/061107.pdf?ref=smdp.com)