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ENTERTAINMENT Students share their opinion on proposed tobacco ban on campus
ENTERTAINMENT Students share their opinion on proposed tobacco ban on campus | Students share their opinion on proposed tobacco ban on campus |
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| Written by Micaela Titus, The Shorthorn staff | ||||
| Monday, 16 November 2009 06:05 PM | ||||
  Architecture sophomore Kathryn New comments on the proposed smoking ban while having a cigarette on a breezy Monday afternoon on a terrace overlooking the Fine Arts Building courtyard. New contends that there are so many smokers at this university, a ban would not stop them from smoking on campus. She says an alternative might be to have designated smoking areas. “People are going to smoke,” says New. (The Shorthorn: Tim Crumpton) In what felt like 54 degree weather, Jamie Hernandez was huddled up clenching her sweater closer to her body at what students call the Smoker’s Niche. The education junior endured the weather to have a smoke break and enjoy conversation with a fellow smoker in her usual smoking spot in between Ransom Hall and Preston Hall. Her smoking breaks in the Niche may end if President James Spaniolo makes the campus tobacco-free. President Spaniolo is deciding if the university should become tobacco-free. The Tobacco-Free Campus Initiative Committee made a recommendation this semester that the campus become tobacco-free. “If the tobacco-free policy passes then students will learn to adapt,” Hernandez said. “Some restaurants don’t allow people to smoke but it definitely wouldn’t stop me from going out to eat. That is too extreme.” Physics sophomore Sophia Cockrell is expecting the recommendation to pass but will miss interacting with the smoking community. She said even though she smokes, she knows smoking has harmful side effects. “When I get a break in class I go outside to smoke,” she said. “I will see other smokers from my class and we start to bond. I will miss the break and the opportunity to reflect.” She said she uses smoking as a time to go outside, enjoy the environment and refocus. Cockrell said smoking brings together a common interest amongst students. Even though it may be considered a bad habit to some, she likes having a choice. She considers herself a “Camel Lights lady” but said she will eventually stop smoking if she can’t smoke on campus. With the first sign of winter temperatures, she doesn’t mind stepping out to smoke but leaving the campus is another story. She spends her day studying on campus. “I am here from 8 a.m. until midnight almost every day of the week,” she said. “Taking the time to get off campus to smoke would not be worth it. It would be more trouble to smoke at that point.”  Architecture sophomore Kathryn New works on a conceptual site plan in the Architecture Building for a class after a smoke break Monday. Smoking is one way New deals with the high stress and long hours of architecture classes. “Working twenty hours over two days on a model is standard,” says New. (The Shorthorn: Tim Crumpton) Elementary education junior Sarah Gomez said she likes and follows the current policy that smoking must be done 50 feet away from any building, entrance and ventilation source. She said she smokes more when she is around other smokers and if the recommendation passes and no one on campus smoking she would be less tempted to smoke. “I don’t smoke every day,” she said. “But on days when I am completely overloaded with homework and projects I may smoke a cigarette. The cigarette is relaxing and it calms me.” Undeclared freshman Chris Williams said he normally smokes with friends and started to smoke more when he came to college. “Smoking has become a regular part of my daily routine,” he said, “Most of my friends and I smoke because it’s something to do.” He said if the recommendation becomes a policy he wouldn’t be excited about it, but it could help him be more socially accepted. Smoking and tobacco use factsCigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S., accounting for almost 443,000 deaths each year.Current smokers facts by education • 44 percent of adults with a GED diploma • 33.3 percent of adults with 9–11 years of education • 11.4 percent of adults with an undergraduate college degree • 6.2 percent of adults with a graduate college degree In the United States, cigarette smoking cost more than $193 billion annually, $97 billion in lost productivity and $96 billion in health care expenditures. SOURCE: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Williams said he has seen people struggle when one’s body starts to feel the nicotine effects. “I only smoke a few cigarettes a day,” he said. “But I see some of my friends smoking almost a pack a day and they can’t go more than two hours without a cigarette.” Hernandez said she is not an avid smoker and smokes under stressful situations. She plans to use other ways to handle the strains of life. “Sometimes I make excuses about why it is okay to smoke,” she said. “But overall this policy could help me handle stressful situations in a more productive way.” Health Services offers classes to help with quitting smoking Want to quit smoking or help someone else quit? Health Services wants to help. Health Services offers Fresh Start from Tobacco classes free to the university community. The classes aim to educate individuals on smoking risks. The health issues associated with first-, second- and third- hand smoke and provide resources for individuals to free from a tobacco addiction. The one-hour classes started in October and are offered Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the first and third week of each month. Classes are available today and Wednesday this week. Students can sign-up through Health Services at 817-272-2771 and faculty and staff through Human Resources. For more details on dates and times check the university calendar. Participants can receive a limited supply of patches and gum as a therapy replacement for nicotine. For more information visit http://www.uta.edu/ucomm/mediarelations/events/cessation-programs.php. Views: 1002 | E-mail
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