Heather, Such an interesting question! We do not have an enforcement mechanism in place, either, and attempts to put the responsibility on the University Police have been unsuccessful.
Technically, an employee found smoking in a non-smoking area could receive disciplinary action: Employees are to report events of tobacco use to the supervisory staff or security. To enforce our tobacco-free environment, employees found using tobacco products or smoking devices anywhere on UT Southwestern property will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment. In real life, by the time the report has been made, the smoker is usually long gone. I suppose someone could take a cell phone picture and report the employee, if the employee was personally known to them, but the ramifications of encouraging that kind of interaction are troubling when you think about them. Didn't someone at one of the ACUPA discussion tables refer to "aspirational" policies? This could be one of them... Interested to hear what others have to say. Thanks, Christine * * * Christine Tata, Ph.D. Director of Policy Administration UT Southwestern Medical Center 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard B7.104 / Mail Code 9002 Dallas, Texas 75390-9002 214-648-2866 From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Heather Foster Sent: Wednesday, November 05, 2014 10:46 AM To: Institutional policy-related discussions ([email protected]) Subject: [acupa-l] Enforcement of tobacco and smoke free policies Hello, Our university adopted a tobacco and smoke free policy in the summer of 2013. Unfortunately, the policy does not address enforcement. (Yes, I'm embarrassed to admit this.) We say, "It is the shared responsibility of all members of the campus community to respect and abide by this policy." Attitudes toward enforcement are changing and I'd like to know what others are doing. I know there can be a wide gap between what is stated in the policy and what is actually happening. Would anyone be willing to share enforcement strategies? Fines/tickets? Disciplinary action? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks, Heather Heather M. Foster Policy Specialist Institutional Compliance & Risk Services The University of Texas at San Antonio P 210.458.5537 F 210.458.4993 ATTN: Please be aware that when you respond to an ACUPA-L e-mail, the reply will be distributed to the ENTIRE list of members. If you do NOT want to send an e-mail to everyone, please reply directly to the individual who initiated the query (their e-mail address appears in the "From" line of their original e-mail). If you wish to remove yourself from the ACUPA e-mail list, please go to the following website and complete the form. We will remove you from the list within 24 hours, during normal business hours. http://www.acupa.org/MembershipForm_Discontinue.html If you have questions about the ACUPA e-list, please contact Jamie Parris at [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]?subject=ACUPA%20e-list%20assistance> or 607-255-6837. ________________________________ UT Southwestern Medical Center The future of medicine, today.
