Smoke where ya want!!!

Fort Collins smoking ordinances do not apply to the CSU’s

campus.

“We’re a state organization so we’re not really in the city of

Fort Collins,” said Earlie Thomas, director of Environmental Health

Services. “We’re sort of a smaller city within the city of Fort

Collins.”

Since Oct. 1, 2003, the city of Fort Collins has prohibited

smoking in all restaurants and bars, places of employment, bowling

alleys and bingo parlors. CSU has had similar rules in place since

the 1980s, Thomas said.

“We’ve had a smoking ordinance on campus for years,” Thomas

said. “There’s no smoking in any of our buildings.”

However, according to the City of Fort Collins Web site, smoking

ordinance also bans smokers from standing within 20 feet of any

“entrances, operable windows, passageways and ventilation systems

of smoke-free areas.”

This ordinance does not apply at CSU.

“CSU’s campus is state property,” said Sarah Fox, senior

environmental planner for the city of Fort Collins. “We can’t touch

those; those are state-owned.”

CSU has no rules regarding where people can smoke outside.

“We don’t have any specific rulings about distance from

buildings,” Thomas said.

Any issues with smoke getting inside buildings on campus from

smokers outside are dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

“(The 20-foot ordinance is) going to stop about 80 percent,”

Thomas said. “You’re still going to have someone smoking 20 feet

away (and) the smoke still gets in.”

Cody Bride, a sophomore open-option student, is glad CSU has not

ruled out smoking near buildings.

“It blocks the wind and it’s closer to the doors,” Bride said.

“I don’t think 20 feet is necessary at all. If you’re outside, the

smoke disappears in a second anyway.”

Erin Young, a sophomore interior design major, disagreed. She

said the entrances to the Lory Student Center and the Clark

Building are often covered by a cloud of smoke.

“I walk through smoke all day long and I choke,” Young said. “It

floats in the building. I can’t avoid it. Every day, it’s

there.”

CSU has no plans to enforce a stricter smoking ordinance anytime

soon. Thomas plans to continue keeping buildings smoke-free on a

case-by-case basis.

“Not only do we not want smoke in the buildings, we don’t want

people smoking around them where it can get in,” Thomas said.