What’s next? Are we going to ban French fries, walking, perhaps reading? Maybe we shouldn’t be allowed to go outside after it snows and the ground becomes slippery?
Call me crazy, but that was my reaction to Idaho State University officially instituting a smoking ban effective Sept. 1.
I don’t smoke and I don’t doubt for a second that smoking cigarettes and secondhand smoke pose a significant risk. However, we are all far more likely to die in a traffic accident on our way to school, or develop a significant health issue due to being overweight or otherwise unhealthy.
We all make choices each day that involve uncertainty and risk. Each of us must weigh the risks and make those decisions based on personal choice. I’m not saying ISU was wrong for instituting a ban. This is a property issue. The university is well within its rights to control the activities that take place on its property and it should.
What it is not is a health issue. Secondhand smoke has virtually no health effects on others when outdoors. If this really was a health issue the university would have banned all tobacco use on its campus, not just smoking. I’ve said that from the beginning since I voted against this measure when it was first brought up by ASISU last fall. As it currently stands this ban is just a pseudo health concern and a villainization of smokers.
If the university is really serious about making ISU a healthier place to work and study it will step up and make ISU a completely tobacco free campus, a measure I support. It will also task a committee to find other areas were students struggle to be healthy and find ways to help them as well. That may be an ambitious idea, but that’s exactly what universities are for.
While I do not agree with the campus smoking ban I do feel it’s a step in the right direction. Universities are a place for progression and change and a healthier ISU will benefit us all.
Bobby Miklos is a senior studying Mechanical Engineering. He is also an ASISU senator for the College of Science and Engineering.
Next Post
Library hosts variety of seminars
Wed Sep 5 , 2012
Idaho State University’s Eli M. Oboler library hosted its own week of welcome activities last week by offering several opportunities for students to learn about a variety of topics. The library’s “Learn Something Quick” series ran from Tuesday, Aug. 28, through Friday, Aug. 31. The seminars, which lasted only 15 […]
