College can be a stressful experience for the average student. In this day and age with the job market being so competitive, students currently enrolled in college must excel above and beyond in both their academic studies and extracurricular activities to secure the job they wish to work in their future endeavors. With that comes proper time management. It can be extremely difficult for college students to find a balance between academics, extracurricular activities, and maintaining a social life. Because of that struggle, students resort to outlets to relieve stress. Cigarettes and/or electronic cigarettes are one of those outlets. Today, colleges across the country are adopting smoke-free policies on campus, which violates the rights of smokers. I am an occasional smoker, and these policies are absolutely ludicrous. College campuses should not reserve the right to adopt smoke-free policies on campus.
Although smoking is not universally accepted as it once was due to more advanced research on the dangerous health risks attributed to said activity, it's still a common act for both young and older students on college campuses to do on a daily basis. According to Americans for Nonsmokers Rights.com, "As of January 1, 2016,there are at least 1,475 100 percent smoke-free campuses. Of these, 1,128 are 100 percent tobacco-free, and 802 prohibit the use of e-cigarettes anywhere on campus." Colleges are attempting to promote healthier lifestyles for their students. It is a remarkable and noble effort in itself, but college administration overlooks the fact that they are denying the rights of smokers.
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Campuses are now going smoke-free due to a series of doctrines that were revised by the American College Health Association. These doctrines eventually became what is known as the current "Position Statement on Tobacco," which was adopted in 2011. A series of changes have been made to where smokers are allowed to light up because of city and statewide smoke-free laws. Most local and state laws do not include college campuses, although some states do include state schools in their smoke-free workplace laws. In states such as Michigan, smoke-free policies hold true to all bars, restaurants, and public venues. In recent years, this policy has expanded to college campuses.
What's most puzzling to me is why force smoking to end completely outside of public areas? There is no documentation that prohibits smoking tobacco or "vaping" outside of businesses/community buildings. The legal age to smoke is 18 years, and it has been legal in the United States for a long period of time. At an adult age, smokers are likely able to differentiate between what is good for their health and what is poor for their health. Most smokers are at or above the adult age, and at that age reserve the right to smoke if they so wish to. Why anger and inconvenience individuals who choose to live a certain lifestyle that is frowned upon by others? If campuses are concerned about the health and dangers of non-smokers inhaling secondhand smoke across campus, the simple solution is to construct designated areas away from buildings on campus reserved for smokers solely. That way, both smokers and non-smokers are content.
It's easy for administration to adopt these policies, the majority of members likely being non-smokers. However, non-smokers can't grasp the idea that nicotine has a very addicting influence on the brain and body, making it increasingly difficult for smokers to quit who have been using for a long period of time. When the body craves a cigarette, an individual should not have to leave campus just to take a puff. As long as renovations are made to appease smokers so that non-smokers will not be negatively impacted, there is no damage done.
At the end of the day, individuals reserve the right to smoke if they so wish. Policies that are made into laws to deny smokers the right to smoke outside of public establishments is a violation of an individual's freedom. To set this policy in stone on college campuses would ultimately be a failure, because smokers will continue to smoke on campus even with the smoke-free ban set in place, so why try to prevent it?
