A UNIVERSITY is banning smoking anywhere on its campus from next year.

Staff and students at Newcastle University are being warned that if they want to smoke after January 1, they will have to leave the site - not just buildings.

The university said it was introducing the ban to provide a working environment that was "safe and without risks to health".

Signs on the new policy, which will also apply to all visitors, are being posted throughout the campus.

Veryan Johnston, from the university, said: "The university acknowledges that passive smoking is a health hazard."

The policy, which has been drawn up in consultation with staff and students, covers all university premises, including the Dove Marine Laboratory, on North Tyneside, and farms, as well as vehicles parked on campus.

Mrs Johnston said: "By making it more difficult for people to smoke, as well as creating a more pleasant working environment for non-smokers, as an employer the university is aiming to actively encourage its staff to give up smoking and adopt a more healthy lifestyle."

Cancer expert Professor Hilary Calvert said: "I applaud the university's decision to prohibit smoking.

"It will protect non-smoking staff from the risks of passive smoking and will help smokers who want to stop."