Throw away those lighters and snuff out those cigarette butts – this time next year, Creighton’s campus will be completely free of nicotine.

On July 1, 2008, Creighton will become a tobacco-free zone and students, faculty and staff will no longer be allowed to light up anywhere on campus. Administrators cite health concerns, healthcare costs and beautification of the campus as the main reasons for implementing a tobacco-free policy.

“Creighton University’s mission is health. That is really the driving force,” said Syed Mohiuddin, professor of medicine and pharmacy at Creighton University Medical Center. “The second, maybe not as important but still crucial, is the economic factor. We calculated that if we could reduce the smoking rate in our faculty and staff, Creighton will save half a million dollars a year.”

Mohiuddin heads Creighton’s Tobacco-Free Task Force, which is compiling the policy. The committee is releasing a draft of the policy to generate feedback from students, faculty and staff.

“We want everyone in the university to understand what is going on and how we are approaching this,” said Deb Daley, director of communications. “There are a lot of best practices out there. A lot of universities are going tobacco-free.”

Students, faculty and staff will have a month, from the time the draft policy comes out, to react to the policy and make suggestions. The committee is also sending out an email questionnaire.

The questionnaire contains information related to how non-compliance should be dealt with and asks for suggestions concerning tobacco cessation programs.

“The plan is, for the first year, to educate and inform people,” said Jeff Branstetter, executive director of Human Services. “There has been some discussion about how the policy will be enforced. The first year will focus on education and information sharing.”

Administrators said that no fines will be levied the first year, but increased enforcement will be discussed for the second year the policy is in place. Another reason for implementing a tobacco-free campus is continuity; the Cardiac Center went tobacco-free a year ago and the Creighton University Medical Center will be tobacco-free Jan. 1.

“We felt in some regard, with the dental school next door, that it was important to work on a shared policy throughout the campus,” Branstetter said.

The administration stresses that the policy is not meant to punish smokers, and said there will be tobacco cessation programs, smoker-support programs and a Web-based help initiative.

“If you provide a space for smokers to use, you actually discourage them from quitting because there is less of an incentive,” Mohiuddin said. “If there is no place to smoke on campus, that is a major incentive. Part of the policy is supporting the employees with tobacco cessation programs.”

Mohiuddin said that Creighton employs one employee full-time, whose only job is to pick up cigarettes.

“We have an opportunity, if we want, to have a neat, clean campus, although it’s a small point,” Branstetter said.

While the ban may get an adverse reaction from many students, faculty and staff, the administration said it is trying to take steps toward informing the Creighton community.

“We don’t want to tell people what to do and what not to do,” Branstetter said. “On campus there is just a lot of health issues and I hope people realize that.”