By Justine Marshall

Delaware State University is starting a tobacco and smoke free initiative in order to foster healthier lifestyles within the campus and beyond.

Starting Jan. 1, 2015 four designated smoking areas will be avail-able on DSU’s main campus. Students will be allowed to smoke inside of their vehicles until mid-August. Smoking or tobacco use will be prohibited any-where else on campus.

On Aug. 15, 2014 smoking or tobacco use will be banned. This ban is not exclusive to stu-dents, but faculty, administrators, and visitors as well.

Director of Delaware Center of Health Promotion Marianne Carter is the driving force in the initiative to promote a healthier DSU.

“Smokers have the right to use tobacco; but, unfortunately, by doing so, they are harming more than just themselves” and “Non-smokers should not have to be ex-posed to those health risks,” Carter said.

Dymond Sellers, a student and non-smoker thinks the initiative is an extreme but good method.

“Although I don’t smoke, I wouldn’t like to be exposed to secondhand smoke,” Sellers said. Former smoker Rosemari Walker said banning smoking will help smokers resist the urge to smoke.

“Even when I did smoke, smelling the cigarette smoke made me want to smoke, even now it still does,” Walker said.

DSU is providing resources for those who want to quit smoking.

Visit http://www.quitsupport.com or call 1-800-QUIT-NOW. If you are interested in free nicotine gum, contact mcarter@desu.edu or call 302-857-7309.