The Retort

Tobacco Free is a Whacky Policy

November 18th, 2011 by Andrew Donnelly Of The Retort Staff

Tobacco is bad. If you disagree, you are wrong. Even though people know tobacco is dangerous, some still choose to smoke. Guess what? That’s their prerogative.

Our campus is going “tobacco-free,” apparently. The law already prohibits smoking in or around buildings open to the public. This protection should be adequate. The “tobacco-free” policy is ridiculous and over-reactionary.

Yes, secondhand tobacco smoke is a health hazard. Then again, just how close do you have to be to a smoker to inhale enough to harm you? When I smell somebody smoking from fifty feet away, I’m sure it’s negligible.

I don’t like smoke, so I don’t go and stand over the shoulder of people smoking. I think it would be a little creepy if I walked up to a smoker and started deeply inhaling their cloud of smoke. It would be creepy because to get a good amount of the smoke in my own lungs, I’d have to be practically bumping elbows with them.

If you don’t want to inhale people’s smoke, then stand back from people smoking. Don’t take away their choice to smoke because of your distaste for it. Don’t blame it on health concerns. If you hate smoke so much, believe me, you won’t stand around smokers.

Also, considering that smokers now must smoke outside as it is, it’s not like the smoke is concentrated or trapped. It’s getting blown away with the wind constantly. You might be able to smell it, but nobody said just smelling tobacco hurts your health.

There are lots of things I don’t like the smell of, but encounter often. Smelly people, smelly garbage when taking out trash, smelly “tobacco-free” policies put in place by people who whine about the smell of tobacco. Not to mention the fact that I come from a ranching-centric community, so on a windy day I can smell cow manure on the wind blowing past the stock yard. Gross! But I deal with it, instead of calling for the ban of cattle near town.

I belong to the mass of people who agree that smoking sucks. I lost my grandmother to lung cancer caused by a lifetime of heavy smoking. I understand that secondhand smoke is hazardous. Then again, it’s probably only a real issue when smoking indoors, or when standing close to someone smoking outdoors.

I have tried smoking before, and admittedly it can be a pleasurable pursuit. Sometimes it’s cool just to see. The other day, I saw a bearded man smoking an old-school pipe on campus. He looked pretty cool, like he was enjoying a good smoke.

Yes, I could also smell that smoke and yes, it bothered me. So, I kept walking, instead of stopping to get a closer noseful. I am not going to go crying to big brother to create a policy banning him from smoking anywhere remotely in the area. That’s going overboard. Which is what the “tobacco-free” policy does.

I don’t smoke, I don’t really care if smokers are inconvenienced. Still, I can’t support this policy that takes away a major privilege, from people who aren’t really doing anything to harm others. If I had my way, nobody anywhere would smoke. But I still can appreciate that they should have the choice to do as they please. Let them smoke!