BCC, Alameda to follow Laney example and ditch the butts

On Nov. 26, 2014, 20 student advocates from Merritt, Laney and Berkeley Community Colleges were trained on the effect of e-cigarettes. 
The training was designed to impart knowledge about the addictive nature of nicotine, the bodily functions that nicotine affects, the second-hand vaping on health, and the marketing techniques of e-cigarette companies. 
The Peralta Community College District handbook on personal safety regarding smoking on campus (refer to Administrative Procedure 3570 for exceptions) states; “smoking including e-cigarettes is prohibited in all indoor and outdoor Peralta campus locations.” 
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors heard proposed ordinances for Tobacco Retailer Licensing with the addition of electronic smoking devices on Dec. 8, 2015.

The Tobacco-Less Clubs on the Laney, Merritt, and Berkeley campuses were prepared to testify on that day. Due to timing constraints the group was unable to speak before the Supervisors. The club will be speaking on this topic at the board meeting in January 2016. 
According to Administrative Procedure 3570, the BCC campus is designed as a smoke free-campus, with no exceptions. College of Alameda has designated smoking areas, immediately outside the southwest corner of parking lot B; the grass area immediately to the east of the southernmost parking lot which is near building AS & D, and the faculty and staff parking lot behind the A building. 
Laney College has no designated smoking areas and according to the procedure is a smoke-free campus. At Merritt College all parking lots, except parking lots adjacent to the Childcare Center between buildings A and D, and the faculty and staff parking lot behind the A building. 
Penalties for violations of the smoking codes on campus are subject to fines similar to parking violations with a maximum $100 for repeat offenders. The tobacco-less clubs will be proposing a 100 percent tobacco-free policy for all campus. Many of the UCs are smoke-free and soon all CSU campuses will be. 
The policy covers cigarettes, cigars, pipes, water pipes (hookah), electronic smoking devices, chewing tobacco, spitting tobacco, snuff and dissolvable tobacco products. The policy applies to anyone who is attending classes, work, or visiting the campus.