New initiative goes into effect January 1st, 2014
The University of South Carolina is set to implement a new bill that has banned all tobacco products from the school's campus.
The ban was heavily backed and pushed for by Healthy Carolina, with the goal of eliminating the amount of second-hand smoke student and faculty are exposed to on campus.
This new "Tobacco Free USC" policy will extend to all campus owned property, including Greek Village and even Williams Brice Stadium.
Outlawing a legal substance has caused a stir among some students, but Healthy Carolina's Natalie Kerns insists the policy was passed with the best interest of everyone's health in mind.
USC is not the first school to pass this type of legislation - in fact, far from it.
The Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights activist group states that over 1,100 college campuses have already imposed similar legislation.
Penalties for not adhering to the university's ban will start with a few warnings before violators will start to be fined, with amounts gradually increasing based on the number of previous violations. Further action may be taken on those who routinely don't adhere to the policy.
