Smokers are no longer allowed to light up in any of the university’s outdoor areas. The nation-wide ban on smoking in and around educational institutions came into force on 1 August. So if you feel the urge, you’ll have to seek out the public road. The smoking ban is in place 24 hours a day and applies to all smoking products – including e-cigarettes, for example.
Sanctions
It isn’t clear yet which sanctions will be levied against those in breach of the ban. In previous plans, there was mention of temporarily barring wayward students from campus after a fifth violation, and a fine and a note in the personnel file for staff members caught smoking the fourth or fifth time. The university hasn’t reached a decision yet on these sanctions, according to an EUR spokesperson” “We will be fleshing this out and bringing everyone up to date in the period ahead.”
Officially, the smoking ban entered into effect on 1 August. Still, the smoking areas at Campus Woudestein were still being used as recently as last Friday. They were removed last weekend. According to the spokesperson, their removal had already been scheduled, but there were some delays due to the Covid crisis.
No consequences
Incidentally, the fact that people were still puffing away on university grounds won’t have any consequences for EUR. The country’s educational institutions have until the end of the year to get used to the ban. “Security staff and stewards will be monitoring whether people abide by the smoking ban,” says the spokesperson. “Based on their findings, we’ll determine if we need to take additional measures – a public information campaign, for example.” From 1 January 2021 on, the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority will be checking whether the groves of academe are truly smoke-free.
The university offers support for students or employees who want to quit smoking via MyEUR and the company welfare worker.
