Ban on tobacco would create double standard

January 29, 2007 —

It was recently announced that Delta College will become a smoke-free institution come August, putting a ban on all things tobacco everywhere on campus but one's own car.

Delta is certainly not alone in its decision, though, as a large number of public institutions are making similar moves and falling in line with the ban.

And I wonder how long until SVSU follows suit.

While the University says it is not considering such a move, the fact Delta has done so makes me think the idea had to have crossed someone's mind along the way.

Truth be told, if the University were to enact a ban, few would cause a fuss; even the smokers themselves are getting used to the treatment, having been forbidden to smoke everywhere this side of their local watering hole.

As for me, I'd oppose such a ban, and I'd oppose it for reasons of fairness. Simply put, banning tobacco would create a double standard, essentially marking tobacco as bad and alcohol as good.

For starters I'm not a smoker, nor do I drink, and I hope this gives me an ability to speak objectively on this topic. I also know plenty of people who do one or the other (or both), so I'm not playing favorites, either.

In comparison, smoking and drinking are both legal activities as long as those partaking are of the appropriate age. Of course, there are some limitations to their legality - namely with drinking and driving. But I'll hold that thought.

If both drinking and smoking are legal, how can one substance be banned by an institution but not the other? This is even more puzzling considering the number of people smoking illegally is far lower than the number drinking underage.

I'll be the first to admit that a lot of that is a numbers game, but it's at least worth pointing out that underage drinking is a bigger issue on most college campuses than its much-detested cohort.

I'm also going to go out on a limb here and say that drinking causes more "second-hand" problems on a college campus than a cloud of smoke ever could. The number of instances of drinking and driving, sexual assault, and violence all increase with alcohol.

To be fair, I'm not ignoring the health risks of tobacco. Statistics have shown that its use leads to serious medical problems such as cancer and heart disease. At the same time, prolonged drinking can cause a laundry list of ailments as well, so I'm not sure we can say one is necessarily better or worse.

What I think this boils down to is the cloud of smoke people have to walk through to get to class.

While this is something everyone seems to get hung up on, few realize there are probably many people equally perturbed about walking through a cloud of drunks on their way to their room.

My ultimate hope is that SVSU carefully weighs any potential decision before making what seems to be the fashionable choice. Choosing to ban tobacco seems to give a nod of approval to alcohol and all the problems that go with it. It's just not right to punish smokers because it's trendier to complain about your clothes smelling bad than it is to complain about drunk driving or noise.

Personally, I'd rather smell like smoke.