See Supervisor Toolkit and Other Information on UC Tobacco-Free Website

Since all University of Cincinnati campuses are tobacco free effective Monday, May 1, you’ve likely seen window clings, signage and garage sleeves announcing the change.

We encourage you to become familiar with the information on the

Tobacco Free web page

, which includes two short, well-done videos to assist with communications you may have around the topic.  

All of us, including managers and supervisors, are a strategic partners in implementing this policy. For supervisors and managers, consistency in communicating the policy and addressing violations is imperative to the success of the initiative:

• Be Informed: Educate yourself on the policy, FAQs, and resources.

• Educate: Communicate the policy courteously and non-confrontationally to faculty, staff, students, volunteers and visitors in your college/unit.

• Support: Connect your employees with appropriate resources, which include stress management, tobacco cessation, and nutrition and fitness. Resources are identified on the Tobacco Free web site.

• Take Action: Hold employees accountable and address matters of repeated violations consistently in the same manner as you would violations of other policies. It is important to assess the impact of the repeated violation in relation to the university’s values and expectations. Tobacco-use violations are not a vehicle to accelerate corrective action of problem performers. College/unit HR representative and Central HR’s Labor Relations Unit and HR Business Partners are available to consult on specific situations, as needed.
  

Download the

Supervisor Toolkit

which outlines resources, talking tips, how to respond to repeated policy violations, how to respond to concerns, where you can find help and a few scripts to use when approaching someone.

As a reminder, the enforcement of this policy will initially focus on education - informing all members of the UC community and campus visitors of this new policy and sharing information about cessation resources for faculty, staff and students.

The success of this policy depends upon the thoughtfulness, consideration, and cooperation of tobacco users and non-tobacco users alike. University administration and Tobacco Free UC Steering Committee will review these enforcement strategies after the policy takes effect and determine if further enforcement protocols are necessary. All suggestions can be referred to the Tobacco Free Steering Committee at tbcofree@ucmail.uc.edu