Letter: Campus coalition to hold forum on smoking policy

Editor,

The Coalition for a UNM Smoke-Free Campus will host a forum to address amending the UNM policy and creating a smoke-free and tobacco-free campus. The forum will take place Oct. 4 from 3 to 4 p.m. at the plaza east of the SUB.

The panel members will be Dona Upson, a doctor in the UNM internal medicine program; Don Soderstrom from the American Lung Association; Jane Bowes from UNM patient education; and Cynthia Serna from New Mexicans Concerned About Tobacco.

The objectives of the Coalition for a UNM Smoke-Free Campus are to remind the community of the harms of smoking and secondhand smoke, to remove secondhand smoke to a reasonable distance from building entrances and places where people congregate, and to amend the UNM policy to reflect those changes. A UNM smoke-free campus will promote healthier lifestyles and provide a healthier workplace.

Another goal of the coalition is to promote a healthier campus for visitors of all ages, prospective students, enrolled students, staff, faculty and hospital patients.

The surgeon general notes, "There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke," and, "Tobacco use in any form, active or passive, is a significant health hazard."

Juan Larra§aga

UNM student