UMSL students (from left) Lindsey Laird, Bekah Cripe and Kaitlyn Hanlin support the UMSL Seriously Tobacco-Free campaign with educational fliers and a cutout of tobacco-free Louie near the south entrance of the Social Sciences & Business Building. (Photo by August Jennewein)

The University of Missouri–St. Louis fired up the second week of its UMSL Seriously Tobacco-Free campaign on Monday, and administrators weren’t the only ones taking the university’s tobacco-free policy seriously. Volunteer students handed out fliers with tobacco facts, cessation resource information and copies of the university policy during high-traffic hours in the Quadrangle on North Campus.

Lindsey Laird, a volunteer and junior psychology major, said she felt compelled to help make the campus a healthier place.

“I hate getting hit by smoke as I walk on campus,” she said. “Besides, it’s such an unhealthy habit. I should know. My parents are smokers.”

Her fellow volunteers agreed.

“Not only is it bad for the users, but it’s bad for others around as well,” said Bekah Cripe, a sophomore special education major.

Over the next two weeks, students will continue providing support information and raising awareness for the university’s tobacco-free policy – rules that students pushed for and were adopted in January 2012.

Call 314-516-5671 or visit umsl.edu/services/health for tobacco cessation assistance.

To learn more about UMSL Seriously Tobacco-Free or to get involved, visit umsl.edu/smokefree or send a message to Alexis Nugent, senior information specialist at UMSL.