Updated November 2021
On Aug. 1, 2016, The University of Tampa became a smoke and tobacco-free campus.
The University of Tampa Smoking, Vaping and Tobacco policy is as follows:
The University of Tampa finds and declares that the purposes of this policy are (1) to protect the public health and welfare by prohibiting smoking, vaping and the use of tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes/vape devices, on The University of Tampa campus; (2) to guarantee the right of nonsmokers/non-vapers to breathe smoke and vapor-free air, while recognizing that the need to breathe clean air shall have priority over the desire to smoke or vape; and (3) to encourage a healthier, more productive living/learning environment for all members of our campus community.
The Smoking, Vaping and Tobacco-Free Policy applies to all University of Tampa facilities, property, and vehicles, owned or leased, regardless of location. Smoking, vaping and the use of tobacco products shall not be permitted in any enclosed place, including, but not limited to, all offices, classrooms, hallways, waiting rooms, restrooms, meeting rooms, community areas, performance venues, and private residential space within University of Tampa housing. Smoking, vaping and the use of tobacco products shall also be prohibited outdoors on all University of Tampa campus property, including, but not limited to, parking lots/garages, paths, fields, sports/recreational areas, and stadiums. This policy applies to all students, faculty, staff, and other persons on campus, regardless of the purpose for their visit.
In accordance with the Federal and state law, and Hillsborough County ordinance, The University of Tampa prohibits the use, sale, and possession of any tobacco product, vaporizer, or electronic cigarette device for those persons under the age of 21.
Please refer to the following state laws for more information.
Smoking and tobacco products prohibited are defined as follows:
- “Electronic Smoking Device” means any product containing or delivering nicotine or any other substance intended for human consumption that can be used by a person to simulate smoking through inhalation of vapor or aerosol from the product. The term includes any such device, whether manufactured, distributed, marketed, or sold as an e-cigarette, e-cigar, e-pipe, e-hookah or vape pen, or under any other product name or descriptor.
- “Hookah” means a water pipe and any associated products and devices which are used to produce fumes, smoke, and/or vapor from the burning of material including, but not limited to, tobacco, shisha, or other plant matter.
- “Smoking” means inhaling, exhaling, burning, or carrying any lighted or heated cigar, cigarette, or pipe, or any other lighted or heated tobacco or plant product intended for inhalation, including hookahs and marijuana, whether natural or synthetic, in any manner or in any form. “Smoking” also includes the use of an electronic smoking device that creates an aerosol or vapor, in any manner or in any form, or the use of any oral smoking device for the purpose of circumventing the prohibition of smoking in this Article.
- “Tobacco Product” means any substance containing tobacco leaf, including but not limited to, cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, hookah tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco, bidis, blunts, clove cigarettes, or any other preparation of tobacco; and any product or formulation of matter containing biologically active amounts of nicotine that is manufactured, sold, offered for sale or otherwise distributed with the expectation that the product or matter will be introduced into the human body by inhalation; but does not include any cessation product specifically approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in treating nicotine or tobacco dependence.
**Please be aware that citations will be given to people using tobacco/nicotine/vape products on campus.**