A state university in New Haven has become the first in the state to go completely tobacco free.

Southern Connecticut State University announced last month that it now has a campus-wide policy that prohibits smoking and tobacco use on its property.

SCSU president Mary Papazian said the decision was in response to a letter she received from Sen. Chris Murphy last year.

Murphy encouraged colleges across Connecticut to join the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' tobacco-free college campus initiative and reduce rates of tobacco-related disease.

“As a longtime advocate of reducing smoking in public places, I applaud Southern Connecticut State University for joining more than 1,000 colleges across the nation and deciding to go tobacco-free,” Murphy said in a statement. “Plain and simple, going tobacco and smoke-free is one of the best ways a campus can help improve the health of its students and faculty."

Murphy pledged to do whatever he could to help SCSU make this transition as smooth as possible. He also encouraged other state colleges and universities to follow suit.

Students moved into SCSU's campus housing last week.