One of the first things I noticed in my recent transition to Manhattanville College is how many people smoke. Its bewildering how casual the “light up” is. But why? It can't be ignorance; people know its blatantly unhealthy. We grew up in an era where everyone knows cigarettes cause cancer, lung problems and the rotting of your teeth. Yet, I've never seen so many people my age smoke cigarettes. This is my third month at Manhattanville College and I'm disappointed to say that the constant smoking almost feels normal. So, what could it be?
After pondering the question, I started to notice something. The origin of this excessive smoking is cultural diffusion. There happens to be a lot of international students at Manhattanville. Here in America, smoking is rather frowned upon. Its illegal to smoke in restaurants, stores, most apartments and hotels. Cigarettes aren't a casual luxury like they are in many other parts of the world. This contributes to all the "cancer sticks" seen throughout campus. In other countries, smoking is more of a social thing. Similar to a nice bottle of wine at dinner, its only natural to light a cigarette and take a puff. When lounging around, bonding over deep thoughts its almost required to smoke, like a right of passage.
College is an immense crucible of different cultures and customs blending together, so it is no surprise that different habits would carry over. Integrating into college is an extremely stressful transition. Stress can definitely contribute reasons why students smoke. Some believe that it can help them “relieve the stress.” No mater the reasons you smoke its still a bad habit. Yes, its true. We are young. This is our opportunity to explore and try new things. However, its important to form good habits that will follow us into the future.
In all honesty, I'm not trying to force anyone to quit or to complain about second hand smoke, but smoking really is a hindrance upon this campus. I'm not entirely sure why there is an outrageous amount of smokers, but this usage should really be minimized and not endorsed as standard or right. College is the time to find yourself and become a person your proud to be.
