UNC issues warnings for on-campus smoking

Chapel Hill, N.C. — University of North Carolina public safety officers began issuing warnings Tuesday to people smoking near campus buildings.

Smoking has been prohibited within 100 feet of any university building since January to limit exposure to secondhand smoke. UNC officials have worked to educate people about the policy in recent months and to provide smoking cessation resources to students, faculty and staff.

Chancellor Holden Thorp said officials "are increasingly receiving reports of smokers who refuse to move the required 100 feet away from university facilities and who litter the ground with their cigarette butts." So he ordered campus security to start issuing citations to violators.

Each citation carries a $25 fine and $121 in court costs.

UNC Public Safety spokesman Randy Young said officers would issue warnings to violators for an unspecified period before handing out the citations.