As of April 3rd, 2017, over 1800 campuses across America, including Stony Brook University, have become officially tobacco-free. Stony Brook's stated reasons for making the campus tobacco free are the following to promote respect for others and the environment, to enhance campus health and wellness, to complement campus sustainability efforts, and to lower institutional costs that result from cleaning, maintenance, and damage caused by the use of tobacco products (among other reasons). These are some noble reasons, but there are some flaws.
Reminder: these are just my opinions based off of what I have observed on campus. While I'm for a reformation of the current smoking policies, I still advocate for people to not smoke. Here are the flaws with the policy:
1. The policy is not enforced very well
I don't know necessarily about other schools, but I imagine the enforcement is probably similar to Stony Brook's. I have never seen nor heard of anyone being approached for smoking on campus (if it is more common than stated let me know). Students and people employed by Stony Brook smoke out in the open without any concern of being seen because no one is stopping them.
2. When this policy is not enforced strongly, it gives little motivation for smokers on campus to stop
One of the motivations for the policy is to promote health and wellness, but not actually stopping people from smoking will not accomplish anything.
3. The second-hand smoke is just as bad since they are smoking everywhere
I walk through a lot more cigarette smoke than I should be for a tobacco-free campus. This takes away the choice from former smokers to avoid the temptation and those who just want to avoid the health risks associated with secondhand smoke.
4. It's not up to the university to decide whether students who live on campus have to stop smoking or not
When you're told to stop doing something that you enjoy, likely you're not going to have much motivation to stop. Starting the process of stopping smoking is extremely difficult and one needs a lot of motivation and willpower to do it. That's a lot to handle when you're already dealing with college on its own.
5. Not all smokers are looking for motivation to quit
Not all smokers are unhappy with the fact that they smoke. We should leave it to their personal support systems and graphic PSAs on TV to convince them otherwise. If they're not convinced they need to, then we shouldn't make them.
6. Without ashtrays, there's even more of a mess than before
Instead of cigarette butts and ash ending up in an ashtray and responsibly disposing of it, it all ends up on the in the grass, on sidewalks, and in the mulch of the beautifully landscaped areas of campus. Now these chemicals are leaking into the ground, causing more damage.
My proposed solution:
My proposed solution is to create designated smoking areas. Second-hand smoke will be isolated to specific areas and former smokers who don't want to be tempted or those who want to avoid the smoke will regain their choice to be exposed to it or not. Having areas where people can smoke will also make it easier to clean up the mess that will be left behind.
Those who come to college as smokers can continue their habit if they wish, and being exposed to unwanted secondhand smoke will no longer be a problem for former and non-smokers. To me, this seems like the best solution, but of course, I'm open to hearing other solutions as well.
