Nevada Legislature: No smoking? Bill would allow colleges to ban smoking

Nevada lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow colleges to ban on-campus smoking.

University of Nevada, Reno President Marc Johnson presented SB339 to lawmakers on Wednesday during a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill is sponsored by Democratic Sen. Debbie Smith and is supported by a bipartisan group of lawmakers.

The bill would allow Nevada colleges to levy more stringent rules against smoking or chewing tobacco on college campuses. Johnson said the university wanted to help prevent university students from becoming life-long smokers.

Johnson said more than 1,500 college campuses prohibit smoking and around 1,000 of them are tobacco-free.

Lobbyists for other Nevada colleges and the Nevada System of Higher Education testified in favor of the bill. No one testified against the proposal.