What started as one student’s effort to create a tobacco-free campus has grown into a University-wide discussion that could generate a smoking ban as early as April.

Philosophy senior Chad Williams began formulating plans for ASU to go tobacco free after joining the University’s Health and Counseling Student Action Committee last year.

“When I became involved with the club, they encouraged me to pick a health topic I was passionate about and pursue it,” Williams said. “As a former smoker, I am interested in helping other students become aware of the effects of tobacco and reduce its use on campus.”

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Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

In addition to the health risks tobacco poses, the atmosphere it creates can also be disruptive to nonsmokers, said ASU director of Health and Wellness Promotion Karen Moses.

“Second-hand smoke is obviously problematic because it’s a potential health risk, but beyond that, it’s a matter of courtesy,” Moses said. “If you’re walking on Palm Walk … as a non-smoker, you can be surrounded by people who are [smoking], even if you don’t want to be in a smoking atmosphere.”

Williams said he is taking a bottom-up approach, garnering student support to create a referendum he hopes will be ready for students to vote on in April.

So far, more than 3,500 students, including many smokers, have signed a petition supporting a tobacco-free policy on campus.

Additionally, multiple town hall discussions have been held over the past year, including one Wednesday night with about 40 students attending.

“The town hall meetings are primarily to dispel myths about what a tobacco free campus means, gain support and answer questions,” Watson said. “Hopefully we can get everyone to understand what it’s all about.”

Statistics gathered by ASU Health Services last spring showed that only a small portion of the University’s population will be directly affected by a tobacco-free policy, Moses said.

According to the survey, less than 6 percent of ASU students reported smoking on a daily basis and only 16.7 percent report smoking at least once a month, a number that differs greatly from the 24 percent students perceive to be daily smokers.

Regardless, that 6 percent has something to say about the proposition, as do many nonsmokers.

Finance senior Alexander Falkenstein has never tried any kind of tobacco substance but opposes a tobacco free policy.

“You own your body and you have the right to harm it and destroy it if you want,” he said at Wednesday night’s meeting. “Although I am completely against smoking and have never tried it, I don’t want to force my morals or beliefs on anyone else.”

Others expressed concerns regarding students’ rights.

“I don’t smoke, but I feel like people have a right to, at least in designated areas,” business sustainability freshman Anita Gardea said.

Sustainability sophomore Natalie Fleming said she is in favor of the initiative but is concerned about enforcement, particularly because the Arizona law requiring individuals be 25 feet from any building entrance before lighting up is not currently enforced on campus.

“I have an allergy to an ingredient in cigarettes and I’ve had to go to the ER because of it before,” she said. “I live on campus and I fell asleep with my window open once and ended up going to the hospital. I went to Res Life afterward and they told me I have the right to ask them to move, but I don’t feel like that’s my responsibility.”

Moses said she thinks most smokers would comply with such a request, as well as an official policy.

Williams said that of the more than 350 universities nationwide that have implemented official tobacco-free policies, most have reported high levels of compliance.

Implementing a tobacco-free policy might also help students who want to quit smoking reach their goal, Moses said.

“Studies have found that the more inaccessible we make smoking, the easier it makes for someone who wants to quit to do so, because you have to go out of your way, so it forces you to cut back,” she said.

Education sophomore Carson Lewis called himself a social smoker and said he doesn’t typically smoke on campus, but he’s still against the proposition.

Lewis disagreed with Moses’ claim that most smokers want to quit.

“I think a lot of smokers probably wish they weren’t smokers but don’t necessarily want to quit because they are married to the habit,” he said. “Being a smoker, I think I can say that.”

Courtney Roake, a molecular bioscience and biotechnology junior and Health and Counseling Student Action Committee member, said implementing a tobacco-free policy would do more than just promote health and safety for all students.

“If ASU does go through with this policy we will be the biggest university to do so, establishing us as a leader,” she said. “We’re not trying to shoot you down and tell you what you can and can’t do. We just want to promote wellness campus-wide.”

Reach the reporter at keshoult@asu.edu