NW Missouri St. to be smoke-free campus

MARYVILLE, Mo. (AP) -- Northwest Missouri State University will be a smoke-free campus, beginning Saturday.

The university's Board of Regents agreed Thursday to follow a staff recommendation that smoking be banned everywhere on the campus Aug. 1.

The Maryville Daily Forum reports that the university had previously allowed smoking only in designated areas, all of them outside.

Northwest administrators had previously announced that the campus would be smoke free after a student-led initiative and other research showed support for the proposal.

But Regent Bill Loch raised objections this spring, suggesting that the university administration did not have the authority to announce the change in policy without authorization from the board.

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Information from: The Maryville Daily Forum, http://www.maryvilledailyforum.com