University of Manitoba hopes to ban on-campus smoking by next year, except at IGF

The University of Manitoba is hoping to go smoke-free in all areas, including outdoors, in the next year, according to the vice-president of administration, Lynn Zapshala-Kelln. She’s looking to follow in the footsteps of many other universities.

For now Investors Group Field or any IGF events would not be included in the push to go smoke-free said John Danakas, Executive Director of Public Affairs at the U of M.

Zapshala-Kelln says she’s confident the change can be implemented soon.

“What we want to do is ensure that we’re engaging stakeholder groups on campus to transition to that smoke-free campus environment,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "What we want to do is ensure that we're engaging stakeholder groups on campus to transition to that smoke-free campus environment," she said.

The number of campuses that are smoke-free has more than quadrupled between 2016 and 2018.

A senior policy analyst with the Canadian Cancer Society, Rob Cunningham, says 64 of 260 campuses around the country are smoke-free.

“Not only does it provide protection from second-hand smoke but it’s a great motivator to quit if you have to go off campus to smoke,” he said.