Editor,
Soon UNM's staff will have the opportunity to make a decision to improve the health of all who visit the campus.
Part of the Staff Council precinct ballot is a question to support a smoke-free campus, and I encourage all staff members to vote on this important matter.
Presbyterian campuses are smoke-free. Albuquerque Public School campuses are smoke-free. The Albuquerque Indian Hospital next to UNM Hospital is smoke-free.
Smoking is prohibited in University buildings, facilities, vehicles and during organized indoor and outdoor events on University property.
Let me stress that smoking is prohibited at UNM sporting events.
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By voting for a smoke-free campus, UNM staff will remove the clouds of smoke we breathe each time we enter or leave a building or hospital. There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke - nonsmokers are adversely affected by secondhand tobacco smoke.
UNM is a flagship institution for the state in research, health care and education and should lead by being the first University in the state to have a healthy, smoke-free campus. UNM Health Sciences Center and University Hospital can make a difference in promoting healthy lifestyles by going smoke-free campuswide.
Juan Larranaga
UNM staff
