No Tobacco On Campus
A smoker's take on the tobacco-free policy
To all those who smoke, I’m sorry. To those who don’t, what gives? Smoking bans have become pretty popular in the Bryan/College Station area, and to even someone like me, who only smokes occasionally, it seems a little ridiculous. I remember a couple of years ago when College Station first became smoke-free, and although it really didn’t affect me, it affected plenty of people around me. After doing a little reading, I learned that certain businesses had put precious money into turning their bars or restaurants into smoke-free havens for all. They put sophisticated air systems that would clean the air every 20 minutes. They did all this only to having a smoking ban put into effect. You could no longer smoke indoors. Living in the dorms I had to smoke outside on a bench. I was that shady character with a hoodie on, a glowing ember the only light near me.
I, like others, learned to deal with the inconveniences of not being able to smoke indoors. I didn’t learn that until I worked at a bar myself and I was constantly reminded of the good times of smoking in bars. But it was clear that everyone moved on with their lives and adapted to smoking outdoors, even when they were out for a few drinks.
My first semester at Blinn, however, I saw something I hadn’t seen since high school: a smoke-free campus. But it wasn’t just smoke-free, it was tobacco-free. Not even dipping was allowed. Not that I’d ever dip in class, but it seemed a little unnecessary to have it posted on campus.
So what gives? I can tell that students aren’t really paying attention to it all, considering the fact I still see people smoking on campus. I’m curious as to whether or not our “smoke-free” campus is really inconveniencing people like the College Station smoke ban did. I don’t ever hear people complaining, I don’t see people protesting, I just see people smoking. I do know that people know they’re not supposed to be smoking, so does that mean that the signs are ineffective?
An even bigger question is why is there a smoking ban on the Blinn campus where there’s plenty of open space? I can understand keeping people a certain distance away from doors, but there is plenty of open air for everybody to share. It seems like tobacco users are getting nothing but ostracized from society for a habit, when there are plenty of habits that are socially acceptable, like fast food. Why punish smokers when in all fairness, they’re not really hurting anybody. Is it a vendetta against big tobacco companies, or do people actually believe smokers are dirtying up the air around us? Tough call, but one thing is for sure, this isn’t a high school full of minors who shouldn’t be smoking anyway. It is a place of adults, responsible for making their own decisions and should be allowed to follow the rules as they see fit.
To those who agree with the tobacco-free campus, I’m not trying to cause any kind of conflict. I’m just asking questions that we should all be asking about society, and what people decide to do in it. Is it really wrong that people decide to smoke?
