A recent article published by NH-1 News about Plymouth State University and its recent policy changes on smoking have caused a large amount of social media response by Plymouth State students.
The article published was pretty vague, only being six sentences in length. Overall, the article just announced that PSU will become a smoke and tobacco-free campus, effective August 1st, 2016. As this article has been circling through the PSU community, a great deal of questions have been raised.
This past Sunday, April 24th, the Tobacco Free Initiative was discussed at PSU's Student Senate meeting. This was the second time the issue was brought to the attention of Student Senate. Connor Brown, the USNH Trustee motioned for Student Senate's approval toward the initiative. The motion passed 6-5.
Speaker of Student Senate and Class of 2017 President, Joe Boisvert explained the decision further, "The tobacco free initiative was brought to Student Senate twice, and the body did not want to approve anything that would adversely affect students who choose to use tobacco products. The tobacco-free working group finally presented a plan that worked more as a 'culture shift' than a hard set policy and punishment. There will be no negative punishments for students who choose to smoke. Rather, the University is working toward fostering a healthier campus culture and they viewed this as the first step in moving PSU into a healthier direction. But I want to be clear, students will not be outright punished for deciding to smoke on campus."
The previous Wednesday, April 20th, the Student Health and Wellness Club hosted a Campus Cleanup, with a focus on promoting healthy living, as well as tobacco and smoking cessation on campus. The cleanup found over 10,000 cigarette butts on campus alone, which provided evidence to back up the request to create a tobacco-free campus at PSU. The large amount of cigarette butts not only poses an issue to the campus environment but also shows that there is a sense of negligence on campus by its smokers.
The Tobacco Free Campus Initiative references a 2014 Report of the Surgeon General, The Health Consequences of Smoking, explaining that there are more than 480,000 deaths each year in the United States caused by cigarette use and exposure to secondhand smoke. Further, young adults who are exposed to secondhand smoke are more likely get sick more often with illnesses like bronchitis and pneumonia. Chronic conditions such as asthma are more common as well.
Although a controversial topic of discussion among PSU students and staff, the issue of secondhand smoke is worth discussing. Many students have voiced their opinion on the upcoming policy change. One student, Silmegy Vega, stated "I believe people can do whatever they want with their lives, which is why I think there should be some sort of exception to this. However, some people smoke around you without having the courtesy to walk away or at least ask if it is okay."
Student Senate is still discussing the aspect of designated smoking areas on campus and what will happen if and when the designated areas are removed. Overall, PSU becoming a smoke and tobacco-free campus is a result of the intentions for PSU to become a much healthier and mindful campus community. But still, students will not be punished for smoking on campus if they choose to.
What are your thoughts? Attend the next Student Senate meeting! Student Senate meets at 6:00 PM on Sundays in Room 119 of PSU's Hartman Union Building.
