| Don’t Let the ‘Man’ Snuff Out Smoking |
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| Written by Gene Rhea Tucker | ||||
| Tuesday, 10 March 2009 03:44 PM | ||||
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On March 5, an e-mail titled the “Tobacco Free Campus Initiative” hit UTA inboxes. It seems the university wants to ban smoking on campus to create “an effective, positive, and healthy learning and working environment.” UTA should enforce the current policy without instituting draconian rules that further prohibit personal activities. Who voted for the committee members listed in the bottom of the initiative e-mail? What is this initiative costing? Could these funds be spent on education? Do we believe the initiative cares if you “share your thoughts with us on this important issue?” It’s easy to guess that it will advocate a full ban based on the tenor of the e-mail and the committee’s name. It’s not “Tobacco Fact-Finding Initiative,” but another instance in long line of “surveys” where the administration acts like it cares what student opinion is and then makes its own decisions. UTA only cares about our health, and secondhand smoke kills, right? Despite the Chicken Little tone of the e-mail, secondhand smoke is a “low-level lung carcinogen,” meaning if you walk past a smoker outdoors, in the fresh air, once a week for four years, it isn’t going to kill you. Secondhand smoke kills when you live with a smoker for decades or work at a smoky bar for years. Standing near a smoker by the library is less harmful than crossing over Cooper and inhaling the exhaust fumes of passing cars. If I stuck you in a closed room with a smoker for five minutes, you’d live, but if I placed you in the same room with a running car, you’d die. Still, the e-mail tries to scare you with feeble sentences like “Each year, more than 62,000 deaths from coronary heart disease among nonsmokers are due to exposure to secondhand smoke.” Look closer. This use of the word “exposure” is criminal. It’s As if these people with heart disease were walking down the street, caught a whiff of secondhand smoke and fell over dead. But tobacco smoke is “a Group A carcinogen,” right? (Cue scary organ music). Solar radiation is also a Group A carcinogen. Should UTA put together a Sunlight-Free Campus Initiative to pass out sunscreen and parasols to students? Occasional exposure to sunlight won’t kill you, neither will occasional exposure to some dude’s cigarette. Any initiative that might reduce tobacco usage is good, right? Forget that we live in a free society where people can choose to be stupid. “Rock of Love with Bret Michaels” is in its third season, and there are a million things stupid about that. Do we really want UTA dictating what supposedly free students can do? If UTA is so concerned with our health, they should ban other things that are unhealthy. Heart disease kills more people than smoking, so UTA should ban fatty foods and sugars. Get rid of fast food at the UC. You can get a veggie delight at Subway with no sauces or cheese. Wave a fat-armed goodbye to vending machines and their devilish treats. UTA should also give up that lucrative contract with Pepsi. Soda is the epitome of unhealthy. Aren’t automobiles killing the planet? UTA should make students live on campus and prohibit driving. They used to do it in the ’20s. What about the possible unhealthy aspects of sexual intercourse? Should UTA regulate that? What should be done? I admit I’m a cigar smoker. I love cigars and hate cigarettes, but I don’t want to tell cigarette smokers what they can and can’t enjoy. I also hate coffee and some of my professors, but I don’t try to get them banned. What troubles me that smokers often break campus rules by standing right outside building entrances. I’m sure this bugs many nonsmokers too. But is an outright prohibition of smoking the answer? The Shorthorn recently ran an article highlighting the problem and hinting at the solution — “University Police do not give citations for breaking the smoking policy, just warnings.” I’ve never seen an officer warn a smoker, but any parent can tell you that mere warnings won’t stop them from breaking the rules — punishment will. Police should issue citations, not warnings. This will get smokers away from entrances. Don’t let the administration interfere with the rights of people on campus who choose to smoke. Gene Rhea Tucker Graduate Student, Transatlantic History Ph.D. Program Views: 1165 | E-mail
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| Last Updated ( Tuesday, 28 April 2009 06:29 PM ) | ||||
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