Smoke Free Campus:
Going Smoke-Free the right way

Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE (NMIT) is the latest campus going Smoke-Free the right way by distributing No BuTTs Personal Ashtrays to their students, faculty and staff to assist them to eliminate cigarette butt litter wherever they smoke as part of their Smoke-Free Campus initiative.

No BuTTs Branded Personal Ashtrays for Campuses are now being used to by over 1,000 Universities, Colleges, Campuses and EDUs around the world to reduce - and often essentially eliminate their student's, faculty's and staff's cigarette butt litter - wherever they smoke.

From modest beginnings as a technical school in Collingwood in the early 1910s, NMIT has grown to become the largest provider of vocational and technical education in Melbourne’s north with current course enrolments exceeding 65,000 students.

Northern Melbourne Insitute of TAFE, with nine campuses located across the State of Victoria, Australia boasts some of the best training facilities in the country – many are designed to simulate real workplaces and, in many cases, provide services direct to the public or industry.

"NMIT is one of the most dynamic TAFE Institutions in Australia and we're very pleased to be able to assist them to educate their students and faculty as to just how easy it is to eliminate cigarette butt litter, wherever they go to smoke as NMIT becomes a Smoke Free Campus." said Jack Jacobson, No BuTTs Managing Director.

"As more EDUs every week around the world implement becoming a Smoke Free Campus the issue of what an organisation's smokers will do with their cigarette butts is of crucial importance to the environment and their public image."

"It's just not socially or environmentally acceptable to ban smoking on campuses without assisting their students, faculty and staff to be able to do the right thing with their butts wherever they go to smoke.  It's akin to letting your dog do its business outside your neighbours."

No BuTTs is curently assisting over 100 EDUs around the world as part of their preparations for going Smoke Free Campus on May 31st which is World No-Tobacco Day.

"It's obvious that just because NMIT is going Smoke-Free doesn't mean that our smokers are going to stop smoking." said Shane Lawtey, Student Services Officer at NMIT.

"All smokers do when banned from smoking within the confines a particular campus's location is go to the nearest place where they can smoke - and that's usually a few feet from the perimiter of that now Smoke-Free campus."

"It's not acceptable to just transfer our smokers and their butt litter to other places regardless of where they end up going for a smoke."

"There are two issues that Universities, Colleges and Campuses - and indeed all locations need to address when going Smoke-Free." said Jack.

1. Where are our smokers going to smoke when we ban them from doing it here?
2. What are they going to do with their cigarette butts?

"Obviously there are health benefits for everyone when an EDU goes Smoke-Free but that must not be allowed to translate into a direct increase in cigarette butt litter in surrounding areas as a result of smokers being forced to "go somewhere else" to have a cigarette."

"Any organisation that ignores the fact that smokers are going to smoke regardless of any Smoke-Free policy is sticking their heads in the sand - and simply exporting their smokers butt litter over to someone else - and that is completely unacceptable."

"No organisation would ever consider telling their people to "just go and dump your litter outside the neighbours properties, or over the road, or out on the street..."  said Jack.  

"But if a location goes Smoke-Free and doesn't assist their smokers to be able to butt out the right way, wherever they go to smoke, then that is exactly what they are doing."

"Sadly there are more than a few campuses, universities and colleges out there that are so politically anti-smoking that to them, even considering addressing the issue of where their smokers are going to smoke is perceived as some form of legitimising smoking." said Jack.

"It completely ignores the reality that smokers are going to smoke regardless of any Smoke Free policy - and that form of sticking their heads in the sand is what we an Ostrich Alert."

"Every college, university and campus on the planet proudly expouses their environmental responsibility and commitment to sustainability." said Jack.

"However the behaviour of those institutions that "don't wanna know or don't wanna care" where their smokers are smoking and what they are doing with their cigarette butts makes a complete mockery of any supposed environmental and social responsibility they may claim to proactively support."

"We're very excited to be working with No BuTTs to address this serious environmental issue." said Shane.  "No BuTTs Personal Ashtrays are a simple solution to butt littering wherever our smokers go for a puff when we go Smoke-Free."  

"The fact that from then on our smokers can safely, easily and responsibly butt out their cigarettes wherever they go and where ever they smoke means that smoker by smoker we are changing their cigarette butt littering habits forever."

Over 95% of smokers who receive a Personal Ashtray permanently change their littering habits and stop littering their butts from that point on.

That's good for all and great for our environment - and the public image of those organisations that are going Smoke-Free the right way.

For a free information kit on Going Smoke-Free the right way - including samples of other EDU Branded Personal Ashtrays, please email info@nobutts.com.au 
or call (+61) 1300-662-888.