New and much stricter anti-tobacco rules go into effect Wednesday at state supported colleges and universities in Illinois. To comply with a new state law, smoking is banned completely, and so is the use of any tobacco product including snuff.
Shawn Cisna, chief of police for Black Haw College, says the old rules allowed smoking if you were at least 15 feet away from a public entrance, but the new tobacco ban applies to any property owned, leased, or controlled by the college.
Kristi Mindrup, vice president for the Quad Cities campus of Western Illinois University, says it affects anyone, anywhere on college-owned property, even banning people from smoking in their own cars in a parking lot.
A task force has already begun publising the new rules on the WIU website and in press releases, and has started producing signs.
Cisna says the new Illinois law applies to everyone - students, staff, faculty, visitors, contractors, and vendors, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Black Hawk and WIU will both offer smoking cessation programs and products for students, faculty, and staff.
