HPH NOWLongwood Campus, Including Grounds, to Be Smoke Free
Harvard Medical School and the School of Dental Medicine will be moving to an entirely smoke-free campus on March 16, 2009. As a result, the contiguous campuses of HMS, HSDM, and HSPH, which implemented a similar policy change in 2003, will be completely smoke free. The announcement was made by the deans of the three schools on June 16, 2008: Barry R. Bloom, Dean of HSPH; R. Bruce Donoff, Dean of the HSDM; and Jeffrey Flier, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine.
In compliance with the Boston Public Health Commission's Regulations on Workplace Smoking, the interior and exterior areas surrounding entrances and air intakes of all Harvard facilities have been smoke free for the past five years. The deans wrote in their email that extending the ban to include the grounds of the Harvard Longwood Campus (HLC) "not only reaffirms our commitment to reducing exposure for all to environmental tobacco smoke, but also aligns us with the policies of the neighboring hospitals to create a model environment."
They continued: "We recognize that smoking is an addiction and a difficult habit to break. For those in our community who wish to quit, several smoking cessation programs will be made available. Information regarding these programs will be forthcoming and broadcasted through our websites and other publications."
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