With classes about to begin at Vanier College, students and teachers will have to leave campus if they want to light up.

As the school announced last year Vanier College has banned all smoking and tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes.

With the legalization of cannabis arriving in October, the ban will also prohibit smoking or vaping cannabis.

According to the policy tobacco and cannabis and other smoking products will be prohibited in buildings, in fields, daycares, any of the satellite campuses used by Vanier, and in College vehicles.

Vanier has decided to follow Dawson and CEGEP St. Laurent as one of the few with an outright ban.

First offenders will be given a verbal warning, but repeat offenders will be fined.

Vanier has long implemented policies to improve the health of staff and students. Four years the school banned fast food, and also decided to ban plastic water bottles.

The hope is, however, that if students aren’t surrounded by smokers, they’ll be less likely to light up.

The CEGEP's director of communications said a consultation among the campus community - a total of 4,000 respondents - showed 64 per cent were in favour of banning smoking on campus.

"We figure that gave is the moral authority to act as we did," Darren Becker said.

To make quitting easier, Vanier has also added more resources to help smokers kick the habit.

“Smoking is not a choice, smoking is an addiction,” said Adrian Gould, a health promotion consultant. “Ninety per cent of people who started smoking started before 18, so we’re talking about prevention, and it has to start with youth.”

“Youth are on our campuses, in our universities, and in our high schools,” he added.

The school says anyone who’s caught smoking on campus will be given a verbal warning, and repeat offenders could face disciplinary action.