As the year has progressed, I’ve started to notice those pesky signs around campus. “I SUPPORT COLONIALS FOR CLEAN AIR,” they read. “THANK YOU FOR NOT SMOKING.”
Now, I don’t smoke cigarettes. I am a cigar enthusiast, and I smoke about one – sometimes two – cigars per week. I live off-campus, so any initiatives to stem smoking on-campus won’t massively impact me.
That said, I have to take issue with the group behind these effort: Colonials for Clean Air. Their goals are flimsy, their arguments are weak, and they need to either put some force behind their words or go home and leave the issue alone.
On its head, the issue is fairly simple: we don’t *cough* like smoking *cough* or secondhand smoke. You should have to smoke somewhere else. Clean air. You get the point.
But the first point where they lose me is their lack of appreciation for consumer freedom. And I’m sure this is a tough topic, but smoking is still a leisurely – and legal – pastime for over 46 million Americans. In the District of Columbia, nothing is stopping me from grabbing a tender Montecristo and puffing away. Smokers are already put through hell to enjoy their habit – from obscene taxes to restaurant laws around the country – this added measure is cruel overkill.
Now, the group states that they don’t want to “ban smoking” and, in fact, don’t even want to use the phrase “smoking ban.” Yet, in the same explanation, they describe 25-foot smoke-free zones around all GW buildings, specific plazas, and open spaces. Well, that’s interesting! Places where it’s “smoke-free,” but smoking isn’t “banned!” I wonder how that works out. It doesn’t seem like both groups, the smokers and the non-smokers, get the “equal rights” that the group nobly proposes. It sounds to me like they all have the “equal right” to refrain from smoking. Hell, equal rights would mean that everyone has the same choice: to smoke or not to smoke.
Of course, I won’t try very hard to stop them. I’ll try extremely hard to stop them. In fact, while we are at it, let’s go ahead and get the ball rolling!
On November 17th, they will be working with GW’s annual Great American Smokeout. What can we get going here? I’m thinking a tobacco flash mob: everyone whip out your stogies, your cigs, your pipes, or even your bongs (for those of you who are leafy green). Whatever, it’s just a thought.
But in all seriousness: let’s get some opposition rolling here. Creating a healthier space (which I wholly support) should not be achieved through forced cessation and the stripping away of individual liberties.
You can let the Colonials for Clean Air know how you feel by visiting their web site, their Twitter, or by leaving your comments below.
Are you for real? Let’s talk about equality. For starters, I’d love to sit at the tables outside starbucks or outside Gelman to just get out of the library and take a quick break, but I can’t do that because of all the smokers. Its not only that I just don’t like the smell or taste, but I also get headaches if I’m around cigarette smoke too long. Let’s also look at NYC. They recently banned outdoor smoking and they have received lots of positive reinforcement. I have also seen reports that show the overall air quality has improved as well.
Lastly, as for smokers enjoying their habit, it would might not be a bad idea for them to find a better habit. Let’s face it, smoking kills. I’ve even heard some people on campus say they smoke because it looks cool. Newsflash: no it doesn’t! Try something more beneficial to your health like exercise.
Wow why don’t you just be everyone’s mommy and call it a day? Do you ever drink? That’s bad for you so it should be illegal right? Prohibition worked so well.
Actually I don’t drink. I do party and go to clubs all the time, but I don’t see the need to do that to myself.
I can guarantee that I both exercise and consume more tobacco than 99.9% of GW students. Definitely not mutually exclusive.
That said, there needs to be a non-invasive solution that appeases those offended by smoke. But forced abstinence is neither realistic nor fair. Let’s start by looking at what options we have for restricted smoking and non-smoking zones.
Someone should lead up my the old student group we had last year, the Cigar Smoker’s Forum.
Cigar Smoker’s Forum will be working to secure funding for a number of events in the very near future.
And yes, weird hippies are invited. As long as they bring tobacco…
I’m down for a smoking flash mob
Though I understand the frustration several people may have with Colonials for Clean Air, I ask you to consider the secondhand smoke exposure component of this issue. As someone whose grandmother died from lung cancer and whose father is currently battling the disease, I am at an increased risk for lung cancer. In fact, according to the CDC any exposure to secondhand smoke increases your risk of lung cancer by 25%, even if you are a non smoker. For someone with a family history and already at risk, this is significant. I ask you to consider if a flash smoking mob which would expose me and many other GW community members to smoke is really the best way to get your point across. I think compromise and collaboration is the a better option and I encourage any opponents to email us suggestions for our campaign on how we can accommodate the rights of smokers and also the rights of non-smokers to clean air. Our email is: colonialsforcleanair@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
Carly Hamburger
Member of Colonials for Clean Air
Even if you have a family history, getting a whiff of smoke every now and again in passing on campus will not seriously endanger you. For secondhand smoke to be a serious issue, you have to be regularly exposed. Kids who inhale their parents’ smoke every day have a problem. Somebody who breathes in smoke once or twice a week while walking past Gelman do not. I think you’re blowing this way up and grossly exaggerating the effect of incidental secondhand smoke exposure on campus.
Data show that any exposure to secondhand smoke is unsafe. The US Dept. of Health and Human Services says:
“There is no risk-free level of contact with secondhand smoke; even brief exposure can be harmful to health”
The citation is below:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. A Report of the Surgeon General: How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease: What It Means to You. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2010.
So, let me get this right. You will trust a government CDC “report” on second hand smoke and want to ban (or “curb”) smoking on campus. OK.
1. Define what is officially designated “Campus” as opposed to public right-of-way in our urban setting.
2. You and this magical study have obviously calculated the toxicity of living and walking around an urban environment where running cars are a constant.
3. Noise. If I can’t smoke, you can’t blab on your earpiece. You look crazy when you talk to the air.