As we all are aware, there is a current debate among students about a smoking ban on campus. Many people immediately declare it a violation of freedom of choice and how it fails to truly affect other people besides the smoker.
Out of the 2,486 students who voted for the recent referendum, 1,221 students voted for a complete ban, 710 for a partial ban, and 555 to not have any more restrictions. Out of the students who voted, 78 percent wanted some sort of smoking ban on campus, with the majority wanting a complete ban.
These students’ efforts are hindered by the “personal choice” issue.
I fail to see how cigarettes only affect the smoker. Carcinogens produced by the cigarette contains hundreds of deadly chemicals, such as formaldehyde, phenol, acetic acid and methanol that are deadly to human health and can cause lung cancer and asthma.
Exposure, even just for a second, means that you are breathing in all of these chemicals. If you smell it, you are being affected.
Walking to the side afterwards does not help – the damage has already been done. After a few times, it starts to add up.
To say secondhand smoke is exaggerated is expressing ignorance. Ask the people who have lung cancer or adult asthma what the truth behind the deadly smoke really is.
Many people still claim, however, that smoking is a personal choice and that we are affected by deadly chemicals coming out of cars, goods we use, foods we eat and the water we drink, and the sun itself.
The difference is that these are necessities, unlike a cigarette. Cars are a vital necessity now and are part of daily life. Food, water, and the air we breath are necessities to live.
What we put in our bodies is our choice, but it doesn’t affect the person next to me.
If I decide to eat junk food or drink a certain brand of water, it only affects me, not the person sitting next to me or across the room at all. Cigarettes, however, do not play a vital role in society at all.
Cigarettes are the only product, if used as intended, that result in death to the user. No other item kills its user when used correctly. Cigarettes not only affect the smoker, but affect the people around them and the environment.
While it is the smoker’s decision to smoke, it is also mine and everyone else’s decision to not want it. Smoking impedes everyone’s health through its effects when used, not just the smoker.
The idea to ban smoking on campus should be welcomed and encouraged.
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Actually, if you hypothetically become obese because of your hypothetical junk food habit, it does become everyone else's hypothetical problem. There's a reason it's being called the obesity "epidemic."
"Cigarettes are the only product, if used as intended, that result in death to the user."
Alcohol, even when used in moderation, contributes to liver poisoning. Obesity, which something like 30% of Americans are experiencing, leads to an entire host of health problems, all of which decrease your life expectancy. To say that cigarettes are the ONLY product to cause death is a gross exaggeration.
I've never smoked an obesityette or any other single product that explicitly causes obesity. I have, however, seen a cigarette which is a product that unequivocally causes lung cancer and emphysema.
There's some people out there who claim that red wine can actually extend your life span by relaxing your circulatory system. I've never heard the claim that a cig would extend my life.
To be blunt, comparing cigarettes to alcohol or being overweight is flat out dishonest.
Obesity isn't an epidemic in the sense that it is a disease. You can't spread obesity like the flu, to someone. That's again in moderation. If you over eat, then you gain weight. Same with alcohol. Its even been proven that alcohol can actually be benefit your health. It decreses cardiovascular disease, fibrinogen, etc. Overdrinking can harm you, but one or two drinks a night can be good for you. Either way, both are fine when used in moderation unlike smoking where you already start the steep decline to cancer and death.
for the record, i'm a non-smoker.
what other choices are going to be taken away from everybody (smokers or non-smokers)? whatever happen to indviduality in the USA? oh wait, i forgot. we live in the Nanny States of America. please don't punish me, all-knowing big brotherer, for having a thought about freedom of choice and individuality.
maybe, because i'm a non-smoker, i could stay away from smokers?? i could patronize businesses, places, etc. that cater to non-smokers. maybe the smokers could patronize businesses, places, etc. that patronize to smokers???
it's not like a segment of society is trying to take over.......... relax, folks. it's not the end of world......
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