What is the smoke-free campus initiative?
The smoke-free campus initiative aims to reduce smoking across university campuses, which has several benefits:
- Improved health and wellbeing for students and university staff
- More people cutting down on smoking or quitting altogether
- Reduced visibility and normalisation of smoking in public spaces
- A cleaner, healthier environment
This initiative is funded by the Grand Est Regional Health Agency (Agence régionale de santé Grand Est) and led by the University of Strasbourg, in partnership with the Bas-Rhin Committee of the French League Against Cancer (Comité du Bas-Rhin de la Ligue contre le cancer).
Non-smoking areas on campus
The smoke-free campus initiative was inspired by the actions of the Institute of Genetics and of Molecular and Cellular Biology (Institut de génétique et de biologie moléculaire et cellulaire – IGBMC) and the Faculty of Pharmacy (Faculté de pharmacie), which banned smoking in front of their buildings to eliminate the nuisance caused by smoke.
Since 2021, the university has been rolling out this approach across the Esplanade campus and several others. It has set up new smoking areas well away from building entrances, which also have facilities for recycling cigarette butts.
Support for cutting down or quitting
For several years, the University of Strasbourg has been running smoking prevention initiatives. Alongside these, the university offers free, practical support to students and staff who want to cut down on smoking or quit altogether.
Students can attend smoking consultations. In the first session, you will meet with a doctor. If you decide to reduce or stop smoking, the doctor will set up a tailored plan based on your needs and goals. This can include medical consultations, nutrition advice, psychological support and stress management workshops. If needed, the doctor can also prescribe nicotine replacement products, fully reimbursed by the French health insurance system.
You can make an appointment online through Doctolib: click on "prendre rendez-vous" (make an appointment), choose "Médecin généraliste" (General practitioner), then "Service de santé étudiante (SSE)" (Student Health Office) and "Sevrage tabagique" (Quit smoking). Or you can make an appointment by phone on 03 68 85 50 24.
Staff at the University of Strasbourg can receive support from the Occupational Health Office (Service de santé au travail – SST) or a tobacco addiction specialsit from the French League Against Cancer (Ligue contre le cancer).