Smoking ban at University of Missouri campus to begin July 1

The University of Missouri is on track to make its Columbia campus smoke-free beginning July 1, six months ahead of schedule. The Columbia Tribune reports the original smoke-free target date had been Jan. 1, 2014, but last year it was moved up by six months. In 2009, Chancellor Brady Deaton announced a five-year plan to move toward becoming a smoke-free campus, and in 2011, a transition phase began by allowing smoking only in designated areas — a move meant to give smokers time to quit smoking or adjust their smoking patterns. The policy prohibits the smoking of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, pipes, cigars, hookahs and water pipes. Officials say that even though e-cigarettes don't produce smoke, they give the illusion of smoking and can cause confusion in terms of policy enforcement.