History department administrator Geri Malatesta said that a regular meeting of department administrators is scheduled to address the issue on Wednesday.

She said she was not yet sure which private offices in Robinson Hall would fall under the smoking ban because their ventilation systems circulate air into the rest of the building.

"I'm waiting to hear at this meeting how we're going to enforce it, [but] I don't see it as a serious problem. There aren't many people smoking in the building anyway," she said.

As various administrators develop plans to deal with the smoking ban, the committee in charge of overseeing the University's compliance with the smoking policy is likely to inspect how well the departments follow the law, said Jim Dezieck, the Harvard personnel department's director of health and fitness. However, Dezieck said there is no procedure now for such inspections, and that he did not know what standards would be applied.

"If two departments have very different policies, as long as they're in compliance with the law, the University will not intervene to make those policies the same," he said.

"Essentially, we're trying to handle it the way we would handle any complaint," Dezieck said.

"I don't expect this to become a police matter," said Vice President for Administration Robert H. Scott. "It's not that the police aren't going to enforce it; it's that it'll be carried out by administrators," he said.

Harvard police officials have said they will not be responsible for enforcing the new law. Cambridge's smoking ordinance took effect yesterday and this type of behavior is now legally banned in all public places. No complaints were made against those violating the law.