Signs around Auburn: warn customers about the smoke-free policy the city has enacted. Lindsey Davidson / PHOTO EDITOR
Breathe in, breathe out.
Allow the smoke-free air to fill your lungs.
A study conducted by the International Agency for Cancer Research has concluded smoke-free policies reduce the rate of smoking and the exposure of secondhand smoke, according to an article posted on www.msn.com.
These policies ban cigarette smoking in public areas such as restaurants, in an effort to reduce the consumption of the highly addictive vice.
Randal Berrows, a senior in philosophy, is a smoker.
Berrows said a smoking section should be a decision left upon the owner of that particular restaurant.
“It takes a lot of money to build a smoking section,” Berrows said. “I like to smoke a cigarette after a meal, so I have stopped going out to eat. Because I eat so much fast food now, my health is probably even more at risk.”
Ashley Sullins, a sophomore in public relations, agrees with the smoke-free policies.
“You have so many people who do not smoke, it’s an inconvenience to customers,” Sullins said. “It causes so many health issues for those who do not even smoke. If you smoke, you can just go outside.”
Because cigarette smoking is so habit forming, many health-related risks come with each carton purchased.
According to the official Web site for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov, smoking cigarettes doubles a person’s risk for a stroke, reduces blood circulation with a narrowing of the arteries and has many adverse reproductive and early childhood effects such as low birth weight and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
Berrows said he thinks the tobacco industry is to blame, not the smokers themselves, and the government should regulate what is put into cigarettes.
“If they are willing to control what businesses do, then they should control what the tobacco companies put in their cigarettes,” Berrows said. “And I don’t believe cigarettes should be advertised to children at all. It is an adult habit.”
Jesi Baugh, a junior in art, said there are certain consequences when establishing a smoke-free policy.
“I think it is a good policy because secondhand smoke is not good, and for that reason, it is a health concern,” Baugh said. “But there are consequences for the people that do smoke because they’re kind of separated from everybody because they have to go outside.”
Another concern of Baugh’s is for the smokers and their cravings for nicotine, a common ingredient in all cigarettes.
“One other downside for the smokers is when you have a nicotine addiction, it can be a distraction if you are always needing a break to smoke,” Baugh said.
This smoke-free policy might be changing how people view tobacco use. Now the public can take a deep breath. Clean air is in abundance.
July 9, 2008 - 7:36pm
nicotine addiction or conditioned response ?
According to the American Heart Association Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) is internationally recognized as the only effective treatment for smoking cessation, and is safe and effective when used as part of a comprehensive smoking cessation program.The problem is a comprehensive program. My research indicates vast holes in the scientific evidence to support Nicotine addiction as the primary cause of continued smoking in some 85% of cases. The facts are clear without a comprehensive program to redirect or eliminate the conditioned habits of smoking, relapse will occur within a year to the vast number of those attempting to quit.
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July 15, 2008 - 11:05pm
A little mention of where our rights are derived...
Our entire system is based on property rights and innate human rights. How can our government even begin to tell people they've no right to allow other people - especially their customers - to smoke on what belongs to them? I am not a smoker, but I am a firm believer in the free market and the constitution...