When I first came to University of Denver, I was amazed by the amount of smokers on campus. My high school was a smoke-free campus so the smoky haze outside of every building was a bit new to me. Now, I have grown uncomfortably accustomed to the smog. Still, I wonder, how is this secondhand smoke affecting non-smokers on campus?
Unless you never read the newspaper or watch TV or connect with any media output, you must be aware of the numerous health issues associated with smoking tobacco products. Most campus residents saw and read 2009’s first TP Times edition, so we recognize that smoking kills. If not, track down the political cartoon depicting multiple clouds of smoke in the shape of guns pointing at an innocent man sitting on a park bench. Or, better yet, look for one of the posters with a dog stating, “I eat poop, but my habit doesn’t cause cancer.”
Scientists have proven that cigarette ingredients cause cancer. Have you ever researched what a cigarette is made of? Let me give you a hint: cancer. Cigarettes contain over 4,000 chemicals; 43 of which are known to be carcinogens. Some of these cancer causing chemicals include nicotine, tar, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, ammonia, hydrogen cyanide, and arsenic. So when you walk through a cloud of smoke remember you are inhaling tar (like the roads you drive on while on your way to Breckenridge). Then, is formaldehyde not the gross smelling chemical used to preserve dead bodies? You are correct! As you smoke or inhale secondhand smoke, are you preserving your living body? I think not.
According to the American Cancer Society, 440,000 people die in the US due to tobacco use. The American Cancer Society states, “Cigarettes kill more Americans than alcohol, car accidents, suicide, AIDS, homicide and illegal drugs combined.” Do we really want the University of Denver to be a campus which promotes death? While not all students will get cancer, there is still a higher chance of students getting smoking-related illnesses when we allow smoking on campus. Nonsmoker lungs do not request smoke-polluted air to breath, yet they are left without a choice. The Health and Counseling Center currently promotes a campaign to respect our bodies. Why do we not respect our bodies daily by eliminating the threat of cancer causing smoke?
Even if you ignore the threat of cancer, there are many possible short-term effects due to secondhand smoke. Brief exposure to cigarette smoke can exacerbate asthma, allergies and bronchitis while also possibly causing eye irritation, headaches and nausea. Imagine a tour walking across the sunny, green campus of DU when a student walks by exhaling smoke. Suddenly, one prospective student starts wheezing and gasping for air as he begins to have an asthma attack. While this may be extreme, do we really want campus visitors to associate DU with smoke? It is not too much to ask smokers to step off campus. In a CNN article, one smoker from Gainesville State College, a smoke-free college campus, stated, “Even as a smoker, I don't like to walk past a cloud of smoke.” Now, without any complaints, he walks to a parking lot off campus in order to smoke.
If other universities have passed legislation for a smoke-free campus, then the University of Denver should join this progressive initiative. DU’s Health and Counseling Center cited a statistic from the Department of Health and Human Services stating, “50,000 non-smokers die each year due to involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke in the U.S. alone.” The University of Denver does not want any current or future students included in those statistics one day. So why not support a campaign which just wants to help prevent health concerns of University of Denver students? Sign in support of a tobacco-free campus and promote a university initiative for health.
I completely agree. While some of the examples of situations you presented were a bit extreme, overall, all the facts are there. They have been there for some time, yet the issue still exists. I understand the ban for this type of thing won't be coming for some time and takes a lot of review and debate to pass something like no smoking on campus, but I believe the more support we put into it can only speed up the process, and we need to eventually remove smoking from campus. It's not that difficult to move a couple blocks off campus to take a smoke, and it's common courtesy; I work very hard to stay healthy and I don't want it ruined because of someone else's addiction. I have asthma and as you stated, Katey, it has gotten worse since I came to DU (I came from a non-smoking high-school campus in California). The facts speak for themselves and they're more than evident in this blog. I signed the petition for a tobacco-free campus and I look forward to the day our campus is tobacco-free.
ReplyDeleteThis ban is a long time coming. It would be hypocritical of the university to spend so much time and money on cracking down on other health issues such as drinking, when ignoring this just as lethal, everyday problem. I also came from a smoke free high school and was perturbed by the amount of second hand smoke I am now subjected to. All the smokers complain about the injustice of a ban and how their personal rights are being infringed upon. But how is it fair to deny my right to clean air? Yes, both sides are arguing for their own selfish reasons. But the non-smokers cause still upholds the ideals of liberty and equality that smokers are so concerned about, while not injuring anybody. A person smoking in a public place is the same as a drunk driver. The two put the public at risk by not respecting common areas. I don't care if a person smokes, just don't do it around me.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very passionate post, and while I see all your points clearly there are a few other factors that make this situation more complicated than simply banning smoking. Before I get into this I will say that I am not a smoker, I personally find cigarettes to be gross and would never inhale the toxins found in cigarettes by choice. This being said I also believe in freedom in many situations including this. Whether we like it our not having the right to smoke is valid. While I can see the logic behind arguing smoking bands in buildings where the smoke is confined into a small space, smoking outside does not have any danger to the innocent bystanders that are also outside. Yes it is gross to walk through a cloud of smoke on the way to class but my guess is you probably could have walked around it. And I can almost guarantee that smokers being outside aren't going to share their "cancer" with you. Also it is important to note that a lot of the smokers you see on campus aren't still smoking by choice. Also this smoking ban would also affect people who like to smoke hookah on campus. Personally I love hookah and think that if I was limited by this ban to smoke hookah on campus that this would affect some of my freedoms. I respect every fact on smoking that you gave, however they aren't necessarily relevant as you are not the one smoking, the smokers are, and they no the repercussions that come with this. So maybe we just leave that to them as a choice and keep smoking as a freedom on our campus.
ReplyDeleteFour years ago, before I came to the US from Russia, cigarette smoke was something I was very much exposed to, my violin teacher would smoke in lessons since I was 5... When I relocated across the ocean though, quiet Rochester, NY was nearly smoke free, no ads on TV or around town, not too many people smoking outside. Coming to DU was a reminder of what I have forgotten, and my tolerance was not as strong this time. I agree that we should not be exposed to smoke just because someone else is making a choice to hinder their own health, however, I see this as a very difficult issue to solve. Smoking, and causing illness for oneself is a freedom we have in this country, and similarly to drinking, forbidding it will only cause resistance. Smokers will not quit just because they can't smoke in certain areas, they will conquer the restrictions, and smirk 10 away from the border. I often ask people why they smoke, and many just reply that they like it. They know it's deadly, everyone does, but that doesn't stop them. Perhaps, because they have been doing it for so many years, they don't feel at this point much is going to be gained by quitting, others might think they will remain 18 forever, and some really don't care that much about a lousy extra several years on this planet. Banning smoking on campus is just going to stir a conflict and anger nervous smokers, and non-smokers who have to deal with them throughout the day...
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