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.

-Joshua Trope, member of Lawton/Ft. Sill Students Working Against Tobacco team