The USG voted down the proposed University-wide smoking ban at its Sunday night meeting.
The decision was based on student opposition, USG President Matt Margolin '05 said.
Despite the USG's vote, the University may still pass the proposal.
"[The USG's decision] does not necessarily mean that it will or will not become University policy," Shaun Callaghan '06, USG vice president, said.
If implemented by the University, the ban would prohibit smoking in all dormitories.
Undergraduate Life Committee Chair Juan Lessing '05, who supported the ban, and U-Council Sandy Gibson '06, who opposed the ban, opened the meeting by discussing the pros and cons of implementation.
"It's not a ban on smoking," Lessing said. "It's a fire safety issue according to people I've spoken to."
Roughly 15 fire alarms go off each semester because of smoking, Lessing said.
"[The ban] is not the only possibility out there," he said. "[But] by speaking to various groups of people, it is the only feasible and realistic solution."
But Gibson countered Lessing's arguments.
"I think [the ban] is fundamentally wrong. Our rooms are our private spaces on campus," he said.
The debate was the result of an email sent by Margolin asking students to respond to the possible implementation of the smoking ban.
Of the 45 people who responded, 35 students opposed the ban and 10 supported it.
If passed, the ban would have called for properly insulated places within buildings where smoking would be allowed.
A main concern of University students was its enforcement by public safety.
"There are questions of enforceability," U-Councilor John Brunger '05 said. "We don't know how the University will respond a year from now."
Lessing echoed Brunger's fears. "Asking the University to strongly consider something doesn't mean they'll adopt it exactly like we presented it," Lessing said.
The ban did not call for a formal means of enforcement.
The resolution was a product of the Undergraduate Life Committee under leadership from Lessing and Vice President for Campus Life Janet Dickerson.
Members of the ULC believed that smoking was the cause of several campus fires that resulted in thousands of dollars in property damages and individual injuries.
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