The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (“university”) is committed to a completely smoke-free environment for all members of its own community and for all other individuals who enter its leased or owned property. Smoking will not be permitted on the premises or grounds of the university.
Failure to comply with the policy may result in disciplinary action up to and including expulsion or termination. Individuals who fail to comply with the provisions of this policy will be subject to the applicable disciplinary procedures.
For questions regarding this policy, contact the Office of Institutional Compliance.
Signs that convey the university's policy will be posted conspicuously throughout university property (i.e., near entrances, in lobbies, near elevators and in other areas of public access).
Any individual student, faculty member, resident or staff member found to be in violation of the no-smoking policy will be asked by a university representative, typically a UT Police employee or a representative of management, to immediately cease smoking. The university representative will ask for the individual's identification and will advise the Office of Institutional Compliance (“Institutional Compliance ”) of the incident.
Individuals who are in a supervisory or managerial role are expected to assume responsibility for implementing this policy. Managers and supervisors who observe violators of this policy should address violators and ask them for their names, department, and name of their supervisor. The manager/supervisor should then alert Institutional Compliance of the incident by an email message which includes the date, location and time of the incident as well as the name, department, and supervisor of the violator.
Institutional Compliance will document incidents and advise the employee's supervisor, or the student's school administrator of the violation.
Institutional Compliance will ask the supervisor/school to regard this incident as he or she would any other, similar disciplinary action. The supervisor will take the appropriate disciplinary action, up to and including expulsion or termination, depending upon the severity, number and type of violations.
Visitors to the campus will be asked by UT Police or university representatives to extinguish their smoking materials or leave the campus. UT Police will be responsible for escorting visitors who violate this policy from the campus.
Administrators for off-campus facilities are responsible for enforcing this policy for all faculty members, residents, students, staff, visitors and patients at the respective off-campus facility.
Policy established 1986; Updated 2/01, 05/08, 02/09