West Kentucky Community and Technical College plans to go tobacco-free next fall, while the Kentucky Community and Technical College System offices in Versailles and several others in the system are enforcing their ban starting Jan. 1.
WKCTC Spokeswoman Tammy Thompson says the college’s ban will begin at the start of the 2015 fall semester but officials are already preparing for that change. Both WKCTC and KCTCS are offering smoking cessation classes in the new year.
KCTCS colleges that are already tobacco-free include Ashland Community and Technical College along with Hopkinsville and Madisonville community colleges. Others in Elizabethtown and Jefferson County plan to institute tobacco bans in January.
Governor Steve Beshear recently issued an executive order to ban all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, on Kentucky Finance and Administration Cabinet properties. Educational institutions are not included in the ban, but the governor encouraged them to participate.
Kentucky has the highest rate of adult smokers in the U.S., the sixth highest rate of youth smoking and leads the nation in cancer deaths.
