Correction Appended: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that officials plan to make an exception to the smoking ban for Football Saturdays. Officials are considering implementing an exception.

At yesterday’s meeting of the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs, Kenneth Warner, dean of the School of Public Health, updated faculty members on the progress of the Smoke Free University initiative, which is on track to become effective on July 1, 2011.

University officials, including University President Mary Sue Colman announced the initiative one-year ago today after Chief Health Officer Robert Winfield, spent a year researching and speaking to students. Warner told the faculty governing body that the decision to make the campus smoke-free fits with the University’s goals of creating a healthier community.

“The decision was made because it aligns perfectly with the goals of MHealthy, which focuses on improving the health of the University community and indeed to be a healthy community,” Warner said.

Those involved in planning the initiative are currently discussing how to implement it next summer. Warner said he hopes recommendations can be submitted to University officials by this fall.

The planning has involved the creation of sub-committees, sending surveys to the campus community and getting input from community members, Warner said.

“The sub-committees are considering implications for student life, human resources, grounds and facilities and visitors to the University,” Warner said.

He added that those involved in the project are also trying to be sensitive to smokers as well as the surrounding community.

Warner described the University’s plan as going “cold turkey,” saying that once the plan is in effect there will not be any “butt huts” around campus to ease people into the change.

Since smoking will not be a ticketed offense by the Department of Public Safety or other law enforcement officers, University officials are expecting the rule to be self-enforced.

Warner added that at other places where smoking bans have been implemented there has been a compliance rate of about 97 percent. Currently, two other Big Ten Schools, Indiana University and The University of Iowa have smoke-free campuses as well as more than 250 other schools around the country.

For students interested in quitting smoking, Warner said subsidized behavioral counseling as well as prescriptions for smoking-sensation medicine will become available.

In addition to trying to be sensitive to smoking members of the University community, Warner said the committees are also trying to address the issue of location equality for people who smoke on both North and Central Campus.

On Central Campus, there is a mixture between city-owned and University-owned sidewalks, which will mean that once the ban takes effect it will be relatively easy for smokers to find property owned by the city on which to smoke. However, on North Campus, the University owns most of the sidewalks, and the planners want to provide an equal amount of space to smoke on both campuses.

Committee members are also looking into creating an exception to the ban for smoking near the Big House during tailgates on Football Saturdays, Warner said. The current policy allows alcohol in this area only on Football Saturdays.

But beginning this year, Warner said smoking will be banned in all areas inside the stadium. Previously, it was allowed in areas outside the stands.

“If you are going to have exceptions and violations I expect to see a lot more of them there than anywhere else,” Warner said, citing a reason for this as the influx of non-University affiliated people to the area.

Another issue that may present itself is that those people with prescriptions to smoke medical marijuana will need somewhere to do so.

“My answer to that is they can eat brownies,” Warner joked.