Semarang (ANTARA News) - The faculty of public health of state Diponegoro University here will reject all kinds of donations including scholarships from cigarette companies as of 2009, its dean, Tinuk Istiarti, said here on Saturday.
"All financial assistance from cigaratte industry will be rejected including scholarships for students or lecturers as well as sponsorship funds for campus activities," she said.
She said the decision was taken with regard to promoting anti-cigarette smoking campaign in campus that has also been carried out in several other campuses in Indonesia.
She said she was of the view that campus was a place for students to learn and to support it a healthy learning environment had to be created among others through creation of smoke-free environment.
She said her side had to have the courage to make the decision because cigarette industry was one of the biggest donors for students and lecturers.
She said it would be inconsistent if on the one hand the campus received donations from cigarette industry but on the other campaigned against cigarette smoking.
Moreover, she added, the campus would be considered legitimizing smoking if it received funds from cigarette companies.
"Anti-smoking campaign must not stop on forbidding smoking but must proceed to reject all kinds of cigarette ads in campus," she said.
The faculty of public health has promoted anti-cigarette smoking since the end of 2008 but the launching of anti-cigarette smoking campaign was officially announced only on Thursday, March 6, 2009.
She said any student found smoking a cigarette in the campus area would be fined Rp50,000.
She said so far no student or lecturer had been caught smoking in the campus. "No one has been fined yet," she said.
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