Beginning next fall, smoking will be banned on all campuses of Georgia's public colleges and universities, Reuters reported.
The ban, starting October 1, will include e-cigarettes and barring tobacco use outdoor of football games as well.
Officials of the state's public universities voted for the ban on smoking and all tobacco products on Wednesday.
"I've gotten no negative feedback and several calls supporting this," said Regents Chairman Philip Wilheit.
"Our aim with this policy is to preserve and improve the health, comfort and environment of employees and any persons occupying (campus) facilities," said Marion Fedrick, the University System of Georgia's vice chancellor for human resources.
The ban will apply not only to faculty, staff and students, but visitors, contractors and subcontractors, Fredrick said.
It will apply to buildings and spaces owned, leased or used by University System of Georgia colleges and universities, including parking lots, Online Athens reported.
"The University System of Georgia is committed to provide a healthful and comfortable workplace," she said. "Our policy is really focused on stopping tobacco usage."
According to Reuters, affecting 31 public university campuses in Georgia, the ban was adopted by the university system's Board of Regents.
Nationally, there are more than 1,100 colleges and universities with smoke-free campuses and 811 of those ban all tobacco products, according to the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation.
"We have been noticing over the last five years an enormous growth in the number of campuses that are passing smoke-free and completely tobacco-free campus policies," said the nonprofit group's chief executive, Cynthia Hallett.
According to the state, half of Georgia's college and universities have already adopted smoke-free policies.
Smoking contributes to 480,000 deaths each year in the United States, including 42,000 deaths from secondhand smoke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
David Sutton, a spokesman for Altria Group which owns three U.S. tobacco companies including Philip Morris USA, declined to comment on Georgia's new campus ban, Reuters reported.
