The Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment at DUT has done its bit to promote World No Tobacco Day (WNTD) today (Friday, May 31, 2013), by putting up “no smoking” signs in the S Block at the Steve Biko Campus.

WNTD is observed across the world on May 31 to encourage a 24-hour period of abstinence from all forms of tobacco while also drawing global attention to the negative health effects of it.

The DUT S block is a no smoking zone but this is often taken for granted by students and staff because of the lack of signage indicating this.

“We (the members of the Engineering and Built Environment Faculty) made an application to the Faculty’s Health and Safety Committee to put up “no smoking” banners in the S Block, especially on the south side where there were no signage,” said Keith Paul, Safety Representative and Chairperson of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment.

The Executive Dean of the Faculty, Professor Theo Andrew, explained that before the S Block was made a non smoking zone about two years ago, staff and the students would throw their cigarette buds around the block. This prompted the Faculty to put up the initial signage for the north side of the S Block.

“There was a significant change after the first signs were put up and the number of cigarette buds was reduced in a considerable way,” he said.

Today, as part of WNTD, the Faculty put up signage at the south end of the block in a quest to further reduce smoking in the building. “We are hoping that, because of the additional signs, staff and students will become more aware that the building is a non smoking (zone),” Prof Andrew said.

— Nikita Smith-Morgan

Pic 1
Professor Theo Andrew, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, puts up no smoking signs in the S Block at the Steve Biko Campus on World No Tobacco Day (WNTD).

Pic 2
Safety representatives from the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment doing their bit on WNTD.
Front row from left: Rajan Deeplall (Construction Management and Quantity Surveying), Vashna Rabbiechun (Town and Regional Planning).
Back row from left: James Mupa (Mechanical Engineering), Keith Paul (Civil Engineering and Surveying), Terence Christy (Chemical Engineering) and Professor Theo Andrew (Executive Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment).