Frequently Asked Questions

The new smoke and tobacco-free policy officially begins August 1st, 2018.

The policy applies to all Flagler College students, faculty, employees, contractors, visitors, and external individuals or companies.

“Effective fall semester 2018, the Flagler College campus will be smoke and tobacco-free. The use of smoke and tobacco products will be prohibited on property, interior and exterior, owned, rented, or managed by Flagler College and extends to vehicles parked on campus or in college parking facilities. The policy applies to all Flagler College students, faculty, employees, contractors, visitors, and external individuals or companies.”

The policy prohibits the use of any lit or unlit tobacco or simulated tobacco product, including cigarettes; electronic cigarettes; vaping products, including Juuls; cigars; electronic cigars; hookahs; pipe tobacco; and any other tobacco products or simulated tobacco products.

Tobacco products that are prohibited includes, but is not limited to smoking, as defined above; the use of any other device intended to simulate smoking; as well as the use of smokeless tobacco, including snuff; chewing tobacco; smokeless pouches; any other form of loose-leaf, smokeless tobacco; and the use of unlit cigarettes, cigars, and pipe tobacco.

Our free cessation programs will offer support groups to quit smoking, Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT), and phone apps that provide helpful tips and monitor daily progress. These resources can be found on campus in the Human Resources Office. Some of the apps that are available to help regular smokers include Quit Now and My Last Cigarette. Anyone looking to quit smoking also has the option to call Tobacco Free Florida at 1-877-U-CAN-NOW to speak with a trained Quit Coach.

Flagler College can only achieve success with this new policy by the help of everyone one campus. Any student, faculty, or staff member that sees someone using a smoke or tobacco product may either take responsibility and remind the individual in a polite and non-confrontational way or seek campus security to enforce the policy.

Smoking and tobacco use is prohibited on all college property. College property includes all property owned, rented, or managed by Flagler College including the interiors and exteriors of all buildings, land, parking facilities, college-owned or leased vehicles (regardless of location), athletic facilities, rooftops, plazas, courtyards, entrance/exitways, and any indoor or outdoor areas owned, rented, or managed by the College.

Flagler College is adopting the new smoke and tobacco-free policy to create a better campus environment for all. There has been extensive research that demonstrates smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke causes negative health effects. Flagler College decided to become smoke-free after an extensive survey was conducted that found that 80% of students and other Flagler stakeholders surveyed agreed that it is the college’s responsibility to adopt policies that ensure people have smoke-free air to breathe.

At Flagler College, our mission to “educate and prepare students for productive careers, graduate and professional studies, and informed, responsible citizenship.” Flagler College promotes intellectual and personal growth to ensure that all students are able to be as successful as possible when they start their professional careers. Becoming a smoke-free campus allows the college to fulfill our mission and encourage behaviors that are rewarding and healthy for everyone on campus.

The goal is to eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke on the campus, which infringes on the health of people who do or do not smoke. Thus, having a designated area to smoke doesn’t protect everyone from the negative effects of second-hand smoke in the same way that a smoke-free campus does.

The new policy will be enforced through campus security, Student Services, and the Student Ambassador Program. Our Ambassador Program has been put in place specifically to ensure the new smoke-free policy is successful. We hope for voluntary compliance so that our campus community can ensure a smoke-free campus completely free of secondhand smoke and cigarette butts. The goal of The College is to achieve voluntary compliance through:

Education: Executing a policy and Breathe Free campaign through awareness of well-being and environmental consequences of smoking.

Providing Help: Accessibility to on-campus smoking cessation supplies and supportive services.

Enforcement: In order to create a successful smoke-free policy, Flagler College will be enforcing the policy through various tactics.

Community Engagement: All people affiliated with Flagler College should share the responsibility and actively participate to make for a clean campus environment and abide by the policy.

There is no guaranteed right to use tobacco and no such thing as a constitutional right to smoke. As long as there is a policy put in place by an organization, it must be followed. Furthermore, tobacco users are not considered a protected class. Therefore, the policies are able to be written because it doesn’t infringe on a person’s right to liberty and the concern exists for the health rights of the community who choose to not smoke.

Flagler College has partnered with Tobacco Free St. Johns to ensure that people are becoming educated about the effects of smoking and can help decrease the prevalence of it in the Saint Augustine community. Tobacco Free St. Johns holds public meetings on a monthly basis, every second Wednesday of each month at Flagler Hospital from 3:00 - 4:00 pm. Students, staff, and faculty can also join the Student Ambassador Program to monitor smoking on campus and enforce the policy.