The UC Davis Health System is smoke-free, and within two years the Davis campus and all of UC will be smoke-free, too, meaning no smoking or smokeless tobacco products indoors or out.

In a Jan. 9 letter, UC President Mark G. Yudof asks each chancellor to form a committee for the purpose of implementing a smoke-free policy within two years. The policies must prohibit smoking in all indoor and outdoor spaces, including parking lots, Yudof said.

“As a national leader in health care and environmental practices, the University of California is ready to demonstrate leadership in reducing tobacco use and exposure to secondhand smoke by creating a smoke-free environment on all of our campuses,” he wrote.

State law and university policy already prohibit smoking in UC-owned and UC-leased buildings. Further, no smoking is allowed within 25 feet of entrances and exits, stairways and passageways, courtyards, air intakes and operable windows — in other words, any place where smoke could bother people who are walking or gathering outside, or who happen to be inside in the vicinity of open windows.

In addition, UC Davis prohibits smoking in outdoor seating areas, including those where food is served.

And Student Housing prohibits smoking in residence halls, and the Orchard and Solano Park apartments, and within 25 feet of any building, courtyard or walkway, patio or balcony, or in the vicinity of playgrounds.

Yudof acknowledged that the policies are likely to differ according to the particular needs of each campus. However, he specified these additional mandates:

• Smoke-free means that smoking, the use of smokeless tobacco products and the use of unregulated nicotine products (e.g., “e-cigarettes”) will be “strictly” prohibited.

• A prohibition on the sale or advertising of tobacco products in university-owned and occupied buildings.

The UC Davis Health System established its smoke-free environment in 2008. Yudof noted that UC's four other medical centers are also smoke-free, as are 586 other university campuses around the United States.

“Offering a smoke-free policy will contribute positively to the health and well-being of all UC students, faculty, staff, and our patients and visitors,” Yudof said.