The smoking ban will cover all Australian campuses, including those at Keiraville, North Wollongong and Sydney, as well as regional campuses in the Shoalhaven, Southern Highlands, Bega and Batemans Bay.

UOW manager of workplace health and safety Darren Smith said the policy, which applied to all tobacco products and e-cigarettes, would be implemented gradually.

“There will be no smoking in any public space on university property from July 25,” he said. 

“There will initially be designated smoking areas, mainly at student residential facilities, but these will be phased out over time.

“It will be a process of education and awareness for the first 12 months, after that we will see if we need to put in other compliance measures.”

Mr Smith said the move was made to improve the health and safety of students and staff – be they smokers or non-smokers.

“Second-hand smoke kills 600,000 people worldwide each year, so it makes good sense to have an environment where people can walk around and not be affected,” he said. 

“For smokers, we hope the policy might prompt them to quit. As part of the initiative, we have also developed a website which will give them access to information and resources to help them with that decision.”

Public health student Ine Seljeseth has been advocating for a smoke-free policy since 2013, and is delighted it’s now becoming a reality.

“As the former president of the student public health society I started a petition advocating for this policy which received over 800 signatures,” she said.

“More recently we ran a poll of students and found the vast majority were supportive of such a policy. I’m very proud to see these positive changes being rolled out.”

Mr Smith admitted it might take some time for some students – including certain international students – to get onboard with the policy.

“It’s a hard message to get across to students coming from cultures where smoking is more accessible and laws are not as strict in public places.”

Indeed there was a mixed response to the announcement on UOWs Facebook page on Tuesday.

One student wrote: “Thank you UOW! As someone with a chronic lung condition (cystic fibrosis) I can now enjoy my lunch on the duck pond lawn without choking on second hand smoke.”

Another felt the policy amounted to “discrimination against smokers”, while another thought it too heavy-handed: “This is university, not high school”.

NSW Cancer Council regional spokeswoman Emma Swords hoped other institutions would follow the initiative.

“We welcome the UOW policy which creates a supportive environment to ensure those who don’t smoke, and those who wish to stop smoking, are in a good position,” she said.

Ms Swords said it was a common myth that smoking helped relieve stress, when the reality was the opposite.

“For students leading up to exam time, it’s important to remember that smoking is not an effective way to reduce stress,” she said.

“Smoking can actually add to stress. That includes financial stress due to the high cost of cigarettes.”

Ms Swords said it was encouraging to note 2015 NSW Health figures showed a reduction in smoking rates among young adults.

“Within the 18 to 24 year old bracket there are currently more people who have never tried smoking compared to five years ago,” she said. 

“’There are also fewer people, in that same age bracket, smoking daily with figures sitting at 14.7 per cent down from 16.1 per cent.”