New River Community and Technical College is going tobacco free. Beginning July 1, the use of tobacco products, including: traditional cigarettes, e-cigarettes, chew, snuff, pipes and cigars, will be prohibited on all college property.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that cigarette smoking is responsible for about 1,300 deaths every day in the United States, and according to the West Virginia Division of Tobacco Prevention, West Virginia has the highest adult smoking rate in the nation at over 26 percent and the highest adult use of smokeless tobacco at 8.5 percent.

“Our policy is changing to create a healthier, more productive community,” said President L. Marshall Washington. “By banning the use of tobacco products on campus, we hope to bring attention to the adverse health effects of smoking and other tobacco use and help those who want to quit.”

Information on the risks associated with tobacco use and cessation will be available at the campuses in Beaver, Lewisburg, Princeton and Summersville and at the Advanced Technology Center, Ghent.