Sheridan College has joined a long list of post-secondary campuses across Canada that has gone smoke free ahead of marijuana legalization.
The college said it intends to ban smoking of “any form of tobacco and/or cannabis” on campus, including vaping, e-cigarettes and chewing tobacco.
In a news release issued Friday, Sheridan College said that it has been working towards becoming a smoke-free environment since 2012. That year, the college introduced smoking shelters at their Oakville and Brampton campuses to restrict the areas where students could use cigarettes.
Sheridan’s Mississauga campus, which is located on city-owned lands, has always been a smoke free.
In the news release, Sheridan said that all three of their campuses will be considered smoke free as of Oct. 17; the day cannabis is scheduled to become legal in Canada.
“The college had been working towards implementing our new Smoke Free Sheridan Policy in the Spring of 2019, however, the provincial government's recent announcement of its intent to allow the use of cannabis wherever tobacco smoking is permitted prompted us to move up our implementation date, to coincide with the legalization of recreational cannabis,” the college said in the news release.
“Sheridan is committed to promoting a healthy and safe working, living and learning environment for all of our community members. At the same time, we realize that the use of tobacco and related products is a personal one. For those members of our community who are interested in quitting or reducing their consumption, we are providing them with information on a variety of internal and external resources to assist in their journey.”
Earlier this week, Algonquin College in Eastern Ontario announced its intention to ban smoking on campus.
The college president said the administration made the decision after the Ontario government announced that smoking of recreational cannabis will be allowed wherever the smoking of cigarettes is permitted.
The smoking ban at Algonquin College will go into effect on Oct. 15.
A report published by the Canadian Cancer Society in mid-September listed 65 post-secondary institutions that have made the pledge to go 100 per cent smoke free.
In Ontario, four institutions were listed: McMaster University and Redeemer University College in Hamilton, George Brown College in Toronto, and Western Ontario in London.
