History of the Tobacco-Free Policy Implementation
The Historical Timeline of OTC's Tobacco-Free Policy
| September, 1997 | Administration began discussion of making OTC a tobacco-free campus. |
| November, 1999 | President recommended that the Board of Trustees approve Tobacco-Free policy. |
| December 13, 1999 | Board of Trustees adopted Tobacco-Free Policy to be effective August 1, 2003. |
| June, 2001 | President appointed a steering committee to plan and promote "Tobacco-Free in '03" Campaign. |
| October, 2002 | President formed a campus committee created to develop a plan for implementation. |
| April, 2003 | External Tobacco-Free Advisory Committee was formed. |
| April, 2003 | Health fair focusing on addictive behaviors including tobacco use was held. |
| April, 2003 | The annual spring picnic featured a tobacco-free booth where 250 tobacco-free frisbees were distributed and students were surveyed regarding their tobacco usage and opinions about the upcoming policy. |
| June, 2003 | Tobacco-free signage was displayed across campus. |
| July, 2003 | A tobacco-free resource room was created and opened to the OTC community. |
| August 1, 2003 | Tobacco-free policy went into effect, emphasizing education about the policy instead of punitive action. |
| October 18, 2004 | OTC entered the second phase of enforcement. All offenders are required to meet with the Director of Safety and Security and either pay a $15 fine or perform 2 hours of labor. |
| August 1, 2008 | OTC celebrates 5 years as a tobacco-free campus |
Contact Us
Ty Patterson
Director of The Center of Excellence for Tobacco-Free Campus Policy
417-447-8887