The Scene staff
Smoking’s bad for you. That’s been pretty much universally agreed upon since the ‘60s or ‘70s.
To paraphrase the comedian Denis Leary, nobody reads the surgeon general’s warning and says, “I thought cigarettes were good for you! I thought they had vitamin C in them!”
In recent years, officials have enacted increasingly tighter controls on smoking in private and public places. It’s an effort to protect those who don’t smoke from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke coming from those who do.
At first, I was opposed to smoking bans in (most) bars that have been put in place in many major cities. Drinking and smoking go hand in hand, right? Plus, it should be the business owner’s decision on whether to allow it.
But as time went on, it literally became clearer why the bans were a good idea. The clouds of smoke that used to pour from every bar are now mostly gone — you can actually drink and see! And while smokers put up a big fuss at first, it seems like they’re quickly getting used to it.
If you have to smoke inside, there are still many bars that allow it. The rest of us can go to places that don’t and avoid the haze.
I’m what you’d call an “occasional smoker,” I suppose. I used to smoke more, though I was never a heavy smoker — not even close. Now, I have a cigarette here or there to take the edge off. The urge for one is stronger when I drink.
But even though I’m a little inconvenienced by having to go outside or to a designated smoking area, I understand that it’s for the greater good. When I quit the things for good, I’ll appreciate the anti-smoking measures all the more.
When I came to Forest Park, the campus tobacco ban had just been put in place. I was aware of it, but I didn’t really give it much thought. I guess I just assumed that smoking was prohibited. It’s 2014, and most members of the millennial generation seem to have enough sense not to have started smoking in the first place.
What surprised me, however, was the number of people who blatantly ignored the ban. I can’t count the number of times I’ve walked up the steps to find a group smoking next to F Tower or beside the fountain.
One day, I came out of B Tower to find eight or 10 people puffing away on the steps. Over the winter, I even saw people smoking in vestibules. They were not only ignoring the campuswide ban, but also the much older rule of not smoking indoors.
It floors me every time I see this at Forest Park. Even at my peak of smoking, I understood that sometimes, if I wanted a cigarette, I’d have to brave the cold and go outside. I might even — gasp! — have to walk a few dozen yards away to do it. Oh, the humanity! What terrible fate hath befallen me that I should have to walk a little ways to smoke!
Of course, I jest and mock. I just can’t believe that so many people are so lazy that they can’t walk to Oakland Avenue to smoke. Some are so indolent that they won’t even throw on a coat and leave the building.
Whether or not you agree with the smoking ban, it was put in place for a good reason: to spare those who don’t smoke from being affected by it. And that just seems really, really reasonable to me.
A friend once put it to me like this: He asked, and I paraphrase, “Should I have the right to wave a bag of dog (excrement) under your nose? No? Then I shouldn’t have to smell cigarette smoke when I walk out of a building.”
Again, that made a lot of sense to me.
If you’re not strong enough to wait a few hours for a cigarette, or too lazy to step off campus or even exit the building to smoke, it’s probably time to reevaluate your habit.
I completely understand the satisfaction that smoking gives. I’ve been there. But if the satisfaction is that important, then it’s worth going outside and walking a little ways to get off campus. After all, nothing good comes easy, right?
If you have to smoke between classes, then be courteous to your fellow students and to the school and step off campus. It’s not that difficult.