Oklahoma colleges forbid tobacco use
09/09/99
For students attending Oklahoma State University's Osteopathic College, finding a cigarette on campus is harder than getting straight A's.
The OSU osteopathic school in Tulsa has a strict ban on tobacco use -- anywhere, any time, anybody.
"We must present an image to the public that tobacco is detrimental to your health. It's ludicrous to see people in the health care profession who smoke," said Vice President Tom Allen.
Statewide, colleges and universities have some of the strictest rules regarding smoking. And perhaps that shouldn't be surprising. In a recent poll by The Oklahoman, 73 percent of those with a college degree who were polled thought smokers interfere with others' enjoyment of public places, compared to nearly 66 percent of those with no degree who were polled.
Campus smoking bans are in place at Oklahoma Christian University in Oklahoma City and Southern Nazarene University in Bethany.