Kevin Conley (The Beacon)
By Kevin Conley, Guest Commentary
We all know someone who smokes. They quite possibly aren't our favorite person to be around. But that doesn't give us the right to infringe upon their legal decisions. Anyone who smokes is quite aware of the decision they make every single time they pick up a cigarette. In today's modern world, no one is so ill-informed that they think smoking is a risk-free habit. However, there is no reason to ban smoking on campus, as it would accomplish nothing positive.
The argument that a smoking ban would make people think twice about smoking is a dream. In a recent study from a college campus where smoking was banned in all outdoor areas, the percentage of students smoking was only reduced by 4 percent and each smoker who didn't quit only dropped their average intake by one cigarette. It's not that effective, and the evidence backs this up.
Just because banning smoking seems like it would work, doesn't mean that anyone will quit. A complaint from students at universities with outdoor bans actually commonly come from females. They feel they're unsafe having to walk all the way across campus and into local neighborhoods to have to smoke, especially when they're alone at night. A smoking ban would be completely unfair to them, and put them in danger even though it's their right to smoke outside in this country.
Now I'd like to discuss the hot-button issue of secondhand smoke. Secondhand smoke is incredibly dangerous and can be deadly under the right conditions. That is exactly why smoking is banned indoors, but there's a reason it's different in an outdoor environment. Multiple studies done in California found that when sensors were placed directly next to smokers outdoors, carcinogen levels were about 75 percent of what they were in a closed room with a smoker. When the sensors were moved only two meters away, the readings were reduced to the background level that we breathe in the air normally, meaning that when you're only two meters away from a smoker outside, you're not experiencing secondhand smoke.
Contrary to some opinions, smokers are not just hurting everyone around them at all times. So is it fair to take away someone's right to a quick cigarette in between classes because you don't like the smell of them? Is that right?
You could make the argument that it isn't fair to either side, but only one side is respectful of the other. Smoking is banned within a 25-foot radius of the buildings on campus, and 50 feet of doors, which is a compromise between smokers and non-smokers. This is why I'm so disappointed in people who think they have the right to stop other people from enjoying themselves because they have a problem with the occasional whiff of tobacco in public. There's no rationale to ban smoking on campus, other than a personal bias against smokers.
