ROGERS JAFFARIAN
STAFF WRITER

Community colleges MiraCosta and Palomar and all University of California campuses are now officially smoke-free. So the question remains, when will Cal State San Marcos snuff out cigarettes?

MiraCosta’s smoke-free initiative started in fall 2011. Palomar College went smoke-free last summer. Some Palomar students are unaware or choose to ignore the new policy. “Behind the lunch area, the cigarette dispenser is full. Security just drives by,” first year student Christina Lare said. “It’s our right. Like handicapped parking, there should be places for everyone to smoke,” Lare said as she smoked a Marlboro light.

Lora Groppin of Palomar Risk Management said, “There are some stragglers,” when questioned about students smoking on campus.

Smokers at MiraCosta and Palomar have been confined to their cars and the outskirts of campus. Currently, there is no law that says you can’t smoke in your own vehicle.

Smoking enforcement at CSUSM started in 2005 with Title 8 California Code stating that people cannot smoke in or around working areas. Anti-smoking laws were reinforced Jan. 1, 2012 when Govenor Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 795 which gave universities more power to enforce smoking policy in how they see fit.

“For a smoking ban to happen, students must first be the ones to complain,” Regina Frasca said, CSUSM’s Risk Managment and Safety director.

Cal State University based student groups, such as Associate Students, Inc. (ASI) and Campus Organized and united for good health, (COUGH) lead the charge against smokers and harmful second hand smoke. Procedures start with surveys being conducted, votes of support are signed, and then the results are presented to campus health boards. At CSUSM, a campus-wide tobacco ban may be closer than expected.

“CSU was following suit with UC’s proposal for a smoke-free campus,” Frasca said, but due to the budget cuts two years ago, the ban was put in the ashtray.

“Unless there is full blown enforcement, a complete ban won’t happen,” Frasca said. Student smokers receive a disciplinary written warning if they willfully ignore an official’s request to move or extinguish a cigarette. For most students, they value their educational reputation and choose to abide by the rules.