Campus Talk: ‘When I smoke, the same security guards come up to me all the time’

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The campus of Erasmus University should be entirely smoke-free since the Dutch Tobacco Act, which became a law in 2020, banned smoking at educational institutions. Despite this, students still smoke, often at the entrances of the buildings, causing a health concern to others. To address this issue, the University Council is asking for a stricter enforcement of the smoking ban, by having more checks by security guards or informative posters at the buildings, for example.

The opinions of the students on the matter are divided. While some strongly support a smoke-free campus, others believe no legislation can be effective.

Smoking area

Hanna Dannenbring, a Psychology student, admits she was caught by security guards while smoking at the campus, but she doesn’t believe that has influenced her behaviour. “Almost every time they warned me. Usually they said, ‘Put the ciggie out or leave the campus’”, she says. “I also feel like the same security guards came up to me all the time, and at a certain point they must know that I know, but they still pretend like people don’t know that there’s a smoking ban”, she laughs. Both she and Artëm Heibel, another Psychology student, think there should be special smoking areas on campus, where smoking students wouldn’t bother others.

Carlijn Bodegom, a Pedagogical Sciences student, who just quitted smoking, would welcome a stricter enforcement of the smoking ban and she believes students should follow rules more attentively. International Economics and Business Economics student Ahmed Khalifa agrees with her and would not mind action towards combating smoking at campus.