Tobacco resolution creates controversy
In 2007, the ASUSU Academic Senate created a resolution in favor of creating a tobacco policy on USU’s campus. The resolution received a variety of reactions last year and in the next few months students will get a chance to voice their opinions during the student vote.
The tobacco resolution
ASUSU Academic Senate President Jeremy Jennings said many students misunderstand the purpose of the resolution. The resolution states ASUSU would support a tobacco ban, he said, and it is also a recommendation to administration to create an actual policy.
The resolution acts as a starting point for discussion, Jennings said, and the senate is willing to negotiate and create specific smoking areas instead of completely banning tobacco.
“The 2007 resolution supports a total ban, but it’s not all or none,” Jennings said. “If we support a total ban and they restrict any less it’s still OK.”
The resolution also supports banning the sale of tobacco on campus, Jennings said. He said Student Services is willing to support the ASUSU Senate in this decision. Students who rely on the QuickStop for tobacco products have mass transit services available to them that can take them to downtown stores, Jennings said.
“It’s not a hard thing, but it would make a big statement,” Jennings said.
No policy towards a tobacco ban has been created yet, Jennings said, and there is still a lot of work to do before a possible policy can be drawn together.
“In terms of actually making a change, it’s in its initial stages,” Jennings said.
The resolution will have to go through the Faculty Senate, said Daren Cornforth, faculty senator from the College of Agriculture. However, he said Faculty Senate doesn’t have the power to make a change on its own.
Jennings said there will be a student vote on the issue sometime in the next few weeks. He also said the resolution will be presented to USU President Stan Albrecht during Stater’s Council Nov. 6.
Jennings said more than anything the resolution is about common courtesy.
“They claim the right to smoke, I claim the right to breathe fresh air,” Jennings said. “Why should everyone else have to walk through your smoke?”
Jennings also said students need to realize the tobacco ban has nothing to do with religion.
“Nobody can separate the two issues,” he said. “We’re not trying to legislate religion.”
According to the Utah Higher Education Health Behavior Survey in 2007, 76.9 percent of USU students would support a tobacco policy, 16.1 percent would not and 7 percent were undecided. The study also stated 1.5 percent of USU students smoke, .4 percent chew tobacco, 95.8 percent have never smoked and 98.9 percent have never chewed tobacco.
The facts of secondhand smoke
The 2006 U.S. Surgeon General’s Report stated “secondhand smoke contains many chemicals that can quickly irritate and damage the lining of airways. Even brief exposure can result in upper airway changes in healthy persons.”
Secondhand smoke is classified as a Group A Carcinogen which is known to cause cancer, according the 2002 Environmental Health Information Service’s “10th Report on Carcinogens.” It also states there is no safe exposure for Group A toxins.
The 2002 World Health Organizations International “Monograph on Tobacco Smoking, Both Active and Passive” states nonsmokers are exposed to the same carcinogens as active smokers.
A recent study in the British Medical Journal states exposure to secondhand smoke for a minimum of 30 minutes can raise a nonsmoker’s risk of a heart attack to that of a smoker.
According to the California Air Resources Board, outdoor tobacco has been declared a toxic air contaminant.
A study in “Tobacco Control” in 2004 stated air pollution from cigarettes is 10 times greater than pollution from diesel car exhaust.
Ryan Barfuss, prevention specialist at the USU Student Wellness Center, said five to six students go through the center’s smoking cessation program each semester. He said another 12 students come in to pick up Quick Kits, a packet full of information on how to quit on their own.
“In 2006 the U.S. Surgeon General reported there’s no safe level of secondhand smoke,” Barfuss said. “You’ve got to realize there’s an elementary school on campus. Kids walk through the TSC. It’s not just USU students who are affected.”
A father himself, Barfuss said he worries about his family being subjected to secondhand smoke, smog, inversion and other air pollutants that could have negative health impacts.
“You want the best for you and your family, and for others, too, not just your own family,” Barfuss said.
It’s not just USU
According to the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation, ANRF, there are at least 105 campuses across the U.S. that are 100 percent smoke-free. Des Moines University in Iowa is one of those schools.
Des Moines University Communications Associate Courtney Tompkins said the university adopted a tobacco-free policy July 1, 2006. She said since the school is a healthcare institution, the policy made sense and was accepted by students without much fuss.
“It makes campus cleaner,” Tompkins said. “It prevents people and nonsmokers from having to inhale chemicals.”
She said although she is sure some people still smoke on campus she hasn’t heard of any problems.
“It’s a community-enforced policy,” Tompkins said. “We’ve heard a lot of people appreciate it.”
The ANRF also stated 320 colleges and universities have smoke-free policies for their residential housing.
What students are saying
Athena Stuart, freshman in geology, said she has been smoking for four years. She said even though she has tried to quit in the past she doesn’t currently want to quit.
“If they do (pass a tobacco ban), I’m going to have to find another school,” she said.
Stuart said though she doesn’t approve of a complete tobacco ban, she doesn’t know what she thinks of creating designated smoking areas.
“Yeah, they aren’t getting rid of (smoking), but it’s a pain in the butt to have to go to a certain area to smoke,” she said.
Katrina Murray, junior in print making, said she thinks a ban on tobacco is a good idea because it promotes health. She also said she would be in favor of placing tougher restrictions on where smokers can smoke.
“As long as they’re not bothering people, they don’t come up and smoke by them, it’s OK,” Murray said. “But they have to find their own spot.”
Devin Sheffield, sophomore in broadcast journalism, said he has been smoking for just under two years. He said he doesn’t support a tobacco ban policy and thinks people should be able to smoke if they want to.
“That’s what America is about,” Sheffield said.
Sheffield, like Stuart, said he didn’t know if he’d support a policy that limited smoking to certain areas and banned it on others.
“It depends on the areas they decide to allow,” he said. “(Banning smoking on) the TSC patio? No one would like that.”
Chase Casillas, junior in English and nonsmoker, is also against the proposed tobacco ban.
“You might as well ban inversion, too,” he said.
Tressa Oswald, undeclared sophomore, works in the QuickStop on campus. She said she gets a regular group of people who buy their tobacco products on campus, but tobacco buyers are few.
“I don’t think it’s a problem having it in the store, but if the school decides to take it out that’s their decision,” Oswald said. “(Smokers) should be able to smoke somewhere. Some people are addicted, they need to smoke.”
Get involved
Jennings said they have approached smokers and nonsmokers alike when creating the ASUSU Senate resolution and they appreciate student feedback.
“We want all the input we can get,” Jennings said. “At this stage the information is more valid.”
Jennings said students are invited to participate Monday, Oct. 20, at 5 p.m. and Tuesday, Oct. 21, at 6 p.m. in the Senate Chambers on the third floor of the TSC. Jennings also said concerned students should get in contact with him or their ASUSU senator.
–rac.ch@aggiemail.usu.edu