Kavitha Selvan, a first-year medical student at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, said smoke-free ordinances have faced implementation problems in Lubbock, especially in bars, because there are a lot of smokers in West Texas, yet undergraduate students face the most secondhand smoke exposure in bars.
Screenshot of Selvan’s Group Project PowerPoint
Selvan said her project group has found that most students would be in support of a smoking ban and would be more willing to go to non-smoking bars.
The Cricket’s general manger is supportive, she said, adding that the biggest proponent for the smoking ban has been Michael Clintsman, the owner of Bar PM and Local Bar and Grill.
According to Selvan, Clintsman said if he could convince at least three other bars on Broadway Avenue to agree to ban smoking without legislation, he would want to make it happen.
Clintsman spoke to KCBD in October about his hopes to ban smoking in Lubbock. He did not respond to contact attempts.
Selvan is currently in talks with Mesquites Sports Bar and Grill, but she said Chimy’s Cerveceria did not cooperate with the study at this time.
She said she will be officially joing the West Texas Smoke Free Coalition at the next meeting, and she said the coalition is very optimistic an enhanced smoking ban — one that includes bars — will be passed by City Council and has a goal for June.
The Tech Student Government Association Chief of Staff Peter Brady has been attending the West Texas Smoke-Free Coalition as a representative for the university’s students since February, and he said there will be vote on an ordinance banning smoking in workplaces — specifically affecting bars and bingo halls — after the May City Council elections.
The senior finance major from Medina, Minn., said this kind of ordinance would affect student life.
“This affects every institution within the Lubbock city limits,” Brady said. “We recognize that our students here at Texas Tech, you know, are a part of the Lubbock community and go out in the Lubbock Community, so any sort of city ordinance affects student life for our students. The fact that it is also a smoking ordinance is interesting because just last year we did a poll of our student body.
Brady said the SGA is still collecting data, but last year’s survey showed 61 percent of students were in favor of a tobacco-free campus, with 38 percent against. Some 80 percent of students identified themselves as non-smokers.
The numbers correlate with data about the city of Lubbock collected by the American Heart Association, he said.
“We’ve noticed that campus is very similar demographically to the city as whole,” Brady said. “So, that’s another good reason – anything that is affecting the city, we can kind of imagine how it will also affect Texas Tech.”
According to the Tech operating policy and procedure document, smoking is prohibited inside and within 20 feet from all campus facilities — including walkways or entryways. Individual residence hall rooms are also included. It is permitted under the stands at Jones AT&T Stadium, Dan Law Field and R.P. Fuller Track, as well as some designated areas outside the United Spirit Arena. The rules also apply to electronic cigarettes.
The Tech document also states that tobacco products are prohibited on sidewalks, walkways and parking structures attached to buildings where projects funded by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas are being researched. The Office of the Vice President for Research website said these buildings currently are chemistry, chemical engineering, Livermore Center, experimental sciences, petroleum engineering, electrical engineering, agricultural sciences, human sciences and psychology.
Brady said the enforcement of the current ordinance is the biggest issue Tech currently faces regarding smoking.
“You’ll see that a lot of times the smoking receptacles are located very close to those doors so it kind of sends a mixed message on what the policy is,” Brady said. “I think the big push we need to do at Texas Tech for now is to make sure that ordinance is very clear and make sure that everyone understands 20 feet away from the building so you can’t affect anybody’s health inside that building.”
Peter Brady
Since all buildings on campus are already smoke free, Brady said, the ordinance would not directly impact Tech, but it potentially could spark conversation about Tech’s status as a smoke-free campus or not — based on how it is received by students and the Lubbock community.
“If this ordinance were to pass in June, we’re going to see how our students feel about maybe restricting tobacco options for the city,” Brady said, “and that’s a good reflection of maybe what would happen if we were to implement those policies at Texas Tech.
Brady said the SGA wants to make sure it is part of the conversation.
“We really want to be educated on the issue so that if it comes to a time when we have to make a policy decision at Texas Tech, we already kind of have as much information as possible,” Brady said.
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