Memorial University has moved closer to becoming smoke-free. There are now only two designated outdoor smoking areas on the instution's property across the province.

One is located on the St. John's campus. The other is located on Corner Brook's Grenfell campus, near student residences. The Marine Institute is already smoke-free.

The university plans to ban smoking completely within the next year.

"When you're in your 20's, you set up all these life long habits, said non-smoker Ben Tippett.

"I think it's good to make it as big a pain in the ass as possible to have a smoke."

How smokers feel

But smoker Carson Evans said he doesn't like the idea of being restricted to only one area on campus he's allowed to light-up.

"Soon enough you'll be able to smoke in a forest as long as you don't cause a forest fire, or somewhere extremly far away that you don't want to go to."

For biology professor, Kaushik Nag it's not just inconvienent for him to walk to the designated location, he said it will hurt productivity at the university because smokers will need more travel time to have a cigarette.

"It's a nicotine addiction and it's not that easy to go four or five hours without smoking," said Nag.

Nag said he's been working at Memorial University for almost 25 years and has gone from smoking in the classroom to an extreme.

Memorial University plans to eliminate designated smoking areas altogether within the next year. (CBC)

Enforcing with shame

The university said a media blitz is being rolled out in August to inform people about the new designated areas and ban planned for next year.

The campaign will encourage members of the university community to shame smokers into butting out.

How the ban will be enforced depends on non-smokers said Sheila Miller, Memorial's director of health and safety.

"It's kind of around the process of peer pressure," said Miller.

"We don't have a ticketing process, that's not going to work, that's not how the university works, this is about changing culture."

"When you do see people smoking in areas they shouldn't be smoking, its a good reminder for people to say, you know look, you're not supposed to be smoking here."