HispanicBusiness

Smoking will be banned on a major California university in the spring, officials say, as all campuses in the system move toward being smoke-free.

University's Chancellor Gene D. Block made the announcement Tuesday in a letter, the Los Angeles Times reported.

All tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes, will be banned on the campus of UCLA as of April 22, he said.

Saying tobacco use and second-hand smoke are leading causes of disease and death, he added cigarette butts constitute one-third of all litter in California.

Block said tobacco users could get a free nicotine replacement starter kit, among other stop-smoking resources.

The UC system wants to eliminate smoking from its campuses throughout the state by 2014.

In January, UC President Mark Yudoff said the UC Medical Center and more than 500 universities nationwide already ban smoking. He said the UC system should follow suit.

UC officials said the focus of the ban would be less on punishing violators and more on developing healthy habits.