During a campus tour, prospective students and their guardians have a chance to see all the University has to offer. Sights include the countless massive oak trees representing our University’s longevity, buildings such as Patrick F. Taylor Hall signifying our commitment to top-notch facilities, Free Speech Plaza showcasing advocacy groups and events and, of course, the many signs touting our tobacco-free campus.
However, when these tours stop in front of Middleton Library, members of the group may feel as if they’re watching a Marlboro research facility. Their focus shifts to a small collection of students reaching to nicotine in hopes of easing the stress of life as a student. These students have chosen a sitting area 100 feet from the library’s entrance. Ironically, in the middle of the students stands a sign reading: “We’re tobacco free!”
The purpose of this column is not to complain about students who choose to smoke in front of Middleton, but to provide a plan to remove this asinine ban on tobacco products.
According to the University’s website, “On August 1, 2014, LSU became tobacco free, in accordance with the governor’s ‘Well-Ahead’ program. The Louisiana legislature has implemented a smoke-free requirement for all state university property, and all public post-secondary institutions in Louisiana must be in compliance.”
After more research, I discovered that under the Obama administration, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services implemented an initiative to stop tobacco use on college campuses. What a surprise — one of the few times both parties agree enough to work together, it’s on an issue that makes America even more of a nanny state.
I know nearly all politicians are fools, so it is not surprising they think it’s their call whether or not our campus is tobacco- free, but why not leave it up to a student vote? Isn’t America all about democracy?
The University lists several laughable reasons, besides the legislation, for a tobacco free campus. The first reason being that “LSU spends $36,000 every year to clean up cigarette butts. That money could be better spent caring for the campus’s azaleas, crepe myrtles, and live oaks.”
Perhaps I’ve been walking around the wrong campus, but there are still many cigarette butts on the ground. Also, the University provides no citation for the claim, so who knows where they pulled the number $36,000 from? If the smoking section were complete with several trash cans, then students would simply throw them away. I also take issue with the idea the money could be better spent caring for plants. What about professors or students?
The second reason the University gives is “Nicotine addiction can lead to depression. Depression can affect not only your social life, but also your studies.” You know what else can lead to depression? Life.
I’m not disputing the claim that nicotine addiction can lead to depression, but since when is it the University’s responsibility to make choices for us, especially at a time when many of us are preparing to make decisions in the real world for the first time?
The University goes on to justify a tobacco-free campus by stating that “A tobacco habit is expensive. The average cost for a pack of cigarettes in Louisiana is $5.33. Just a pack-a-week habit will cost you almost $278.00 annually. That’s like a two-year supply of Ramen noodles.” Keep in mind, this is coming from a University that charges nearly $11,000 an academic year to share an upgraded prison cell and eat 15 meals a week. That’s like a 79-year supply of Ramen noodles for those of you keeping score at home.
The final reason listed is “Tobacco-related illnesses kill 443,000 people every year in the U.S. That’s more than the entire population of New Orleans.” Once again, this is coming from a University which offers nearly exclusively fast food in the Union and has soda vending machines in every building. I’m no doctor, but I’ve been told fast food and corn syrup aren’t necessarily great for your body either.
Let’s be honest — the real reason our campus is tobacco free is because someone thought it makes us look good. Maybe to a few parents, it actually does, but what about when they take that tour that stops right in front of the smoking area?
I don’t know many prospective students that base their school choice on whether or not the campus is tobacco free. The only argument for a tobacco free campus I could see as valid is one made for the health of nonsmokers who are forced to walk by smokers as they enter the library.
According to a 2007 study by the California Air Resources Board, it’s hard to measure the effects of secondhand smoke outdoors because conditions change rapidly, but the study did find that exposure levels are “very localized.” Factors that influence the degree of exposure include wind, area size and the number of smokers.
The ban clearly isn’t about second hand smoke because it also bans smokeless tobacco. I could sit in a room full of people using smokeless tobacco and my health would be unchanged. I’m sure there are some who think dip should remain banned because seeing someone spit in a bottle is gross. However, this is no reason for something to be banned. If watching someone spit grosses you out, just do what I do when I pass a mirror: don’t look.
After allowing the use of smokeless tobacco, the University should then allow smoking in designated areas such as the back of Middleton library, or another area with much less foot traffic than in front of the library. This would allow smokers to continue to enjoy their cigarettes, but without offending anyone who can’t stand smelling cigarette smoke for five seconds as they walk by.
Finally, the University should allow vaping in certain indoor areas. Honestly, people should be able to vape anywhere, but there’s a possibility of too much “Blueberry-Dragon Fruit gummy bear” vapor floating through the air.
Smoke and vapor in the air around campus could benefit us all by canceling out the smell of sweet, sweet love that’s sure to follow Drake’s recent release of “More Life.”
Matthew Hutchins is a 20-year-old petroleum engineering sophomore from Birmingham, Alabama.