The UvA aims to provide staff and students with a healthy and smoke-free learning and working environment. The new policy will support people trying to quit smoking, protect non-smokers from inhaling cigarette smoke and prevent more young people from taking up smoking.   

Step-by-step measures

August 2020 may still seem a long way away, but we would nevertheless like to inform you of this now. During the period from January 2020 to August 2020, we will be introducing measures one step at a time to comply with the law. This may be good news to some, while presenting a problem to others. Staff, students and visitors, both smokers and non-smokers, will notice certain changes around buildings and campuses.

Once the specific rules for higher educational institutions become known and we have concluded agreements with local residents and the City of Amsterdam, we will begin informing everyone of the new rules. At that time, we will also place signs reading ‘smoke-free premises’ and remove all cigarette receptacles. We will inform everyone of the measures involved, where people can smoke outside UvA premises and the penalties people will face for smoking on UvA premises, and will do so well before the measures are implemented.

Quitting smoking?

If you want to quit smoking and are looking for help, go to jongeren.rokeninfo.nl or ikstopnu.nl or contact your GP or the UvA's General Practitioners Practice. Help with quitting smoking is covered by your basic insurance. As of 1 January 2020, health insurers will no longer be allowed to charge an excess, so any help you receive is free.