No Smoking on WCC Campus: The Right Choice?

Smokers in the Hudson Valley have seen available spots to light up diminish in past months.

Recently, cigarettes were banned on train platforms for Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road customers. Commuters who brush off the moratorium can face ejection, a $50 fine and/or imprisonment of not more than 30 days.

In Rockland County, the Palisades Center issued a crackdown on cigarettes in May.

Now another spot if off-limits: the sprawling Westchester Community College campus in Valhalla. The policy went into effect at the start of 2012 as a voluntary ban, but did not see enforcement until this September.

"Whereas the previous policy prohibited smoking in specific areas, this policy promotes a healthy environment by eliminating any form of tobacco use anywhere on campus," the school notes on its website.

The new rules apply to students, faculty and staff. Officials say they aim for voluntary compliance, but smoking can sometimes result in "disciplinary actions."

Rockland Community College in Suffern is currently smoke-free, as well.