NEW HAVEN >> Southern Connecticut State University will become a tobacco-free campus later this year, President Mary A. Papazian announced in a release.

Papazian said the new policy will take effect Aug. 25, before students return for the fall semester.

The policy calls for the prohibition of smoking and tobacco use — including e-cigarettes — in all SCSU facilities and outdoor areas of campus without exception, the release said. It applies to students, faculty and staff, as well as visitors, contractors and members of the general public, the release said.

The declaration follows a year of study and campus outreach led by the university’s Tobacco-Free Subcommittee, a representative panel of faculty, staff and students, which ultimately recommended the plan to Papazian, according to the release. The subcommittee serves as an arm of the SCSU Health and Safety Committee.

“I applaud Southern Connecticut State University’s decision to go tobacco-free, which will go a long way in helping students, faculty, and staff lead longer, healthier lives,” U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said, also in a statement. “Today’s decision demonstrates Southern’s leadership on this important public health initiative and builds critical momentum in our state.”

According to the release, the SCSU subcommittee was formed in response to a letter from Murphy, who encouraged the university to join the national Tobacco-Free College Campus Initiative. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services launched that initiative in 2012.

“I look forward to partnering with President Papazian and the entire SCSU community to do whatever I can to help them make this transition, whether it’s through U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Tobacco-Free College Campus initiative or other programs and initiatives,” Murphy said.

Papazian, in the SCSU release, said the policy “will help to ensure that Southern’s campus has a healthy environment in which to live, work and learn for our students, faculty and staff.” She said the policy “reflects our mission to foster a safe, healthy and respectful environment on campus.”

Papazian thanked the campus community for its comments and suggestions, especially SCSU Police Chief Joseph Dooley, chairman of the Health and Safety Committee, and Dr. Diane Morgenthaler, director of the Student Health and Wellness Center and chairwoman of the Tobacco-Free Subcommittee.

The new policy puts SCSU on a growing list of tobacco-free colleges and universities across the nation, now topping 1,000, the release said. Gateway Community College was the first public college in Connecticut to adapt such a policy.

Tobacco is the number one preventable cause of death in the U.S., with cigarette smoking causing more than 480,000 deaths annually, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Southern’s policy, available at www.southernct.edu/tobaccofree, has been designed to help reduce health risks and related employee health care costs. It will dovetail with similar initiatives at the University of New Haven and the city of New Haven (at city buildings, parks, playgrounds and school grounds), according to the release.

Papazian said the university recognizes the new policy may be challenging for some members of the campus community and that cessation programs will be available.

“The next 12 months will focus on education and awareness, while we develop our enforcement protocol,” Papazian said in the release. “Compliance with the policy – and encouraging others to do so – will be a shared responsibility of all Southern students, employees and visitors.”