Fanshawe College has bumped up the start date for a smoke-free campus by several months in order to comply with new rules around cannabis consumption.

Peter Devlin stands in the foyer of Fanshawe's new Kingsmills building. (Brenden Dixon) The post-secondary institution had planned to ban tobacco in 2019 but in an email to staff, president Peter Devlin said new legislation provided an opportunity to put a policy in place more quickly.

The Ontario government introduced Bill 36, which says cannabis smoking is allowed wherever tobacco is permitted.

"As of November 1, 2018, smoking any form of tobacco and/or cannabis, vaping and use of e-cigarettes and smokeless tobacco (commonly known as chewing tobacco) will not be permitted anywhere on Fanshawe property," Devlin wrote.

Fanshawe College has two campuses in London, the newest in downtown, and enrolls 21,000 students.

The College said anyone failing to follow the new rules could face fines and disciplinary actions in accordance with the school's code of conduct.

Western University, with a student body of more than 28,000 students, is introducing a smoke-free policy in July 2019.

Smokers on that campus must be at least 10 meters away from any building.