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On whether smoking should be prohibited on university grounds is a long standing issue of debate. For smokers, enjoying their freedom of choice; even if they choose to poison themselves and those around them, must be left on their sole discretion. On the other hand, non-smokers especially those who are very much aware of tobacco smoke’s health and environmental effect, strongly agree to the idea of having a smoke-free campus. It is a common knowledge that smoking does cause cancer and other health problems. In fact, tobacco smoke has been estimated to contain more or less 5,000 toxic and carcinogenic chemicals pointed out by numerous studies as the source of “chemically mediated disease in humans”. Few smokers would disagree about these findings. In fact, most of them have been well-informed and almost all have attempted to quit at some point in their lives. Despite these knowledge, smokers, however, does not flinch when informed of how smoking kills and how it adversely affect their health. Except for a few individuals, most smokers would agree that the presumed benefits and pleasure of smoking far exceed the fear associated with it. So why is it that even though they have been constantly informed about the dangers of smoking, smokers keep coming back to their smoking habit and even fight for a right to have an area wherein they can freely smoke? When analyzed, smokers exhibit attitudes of persons under hypnotism. It seems that they are in a psychological condition wherein they have no idea of what they are doing and what they are talking about. There is a strong reason to believe that there is something in cigarette smoke that induces this hypnotic effect on individuals. For fact, there is. Nicotine, for one, is a highly addictive drug. Much like other controlled substances, nicotine, when it attached to a person’s system, can be very difficult to get over from. Such were the plight of smokers who wish to quit yet find themselves hooked to the vice for life. Perhaps a fraction of what makes people smoke is the pleasure that smoking gives yet what is arguably the main reason for people being hooked with cigarette smoking is because of addiction. Despite the marketing propagandas of cigarette manufacturers that cigarette smoking is a choice, there is no much choice once a person is hooked up. So instead of being his own master as what the Marlboro man seems to enjoy, the smoker actually becomes a slave driven by the addictive forces of the drug nicotine. Nicotine is a narcotic drug and that is how it should be strictly classified. Smoking, therefore, is harmful both physically and mentally because of its addictive substances. Basing on such argument, there is no reason why smoking should not be banned in schools and all public and private areas. Aside from the adverse health effects of smoking, the untoward circumstances associated with smoking such as being a fire hazard should also be considered. As study by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) revealed that cigarette smoking has been the cause of most accidental fires resulting in one or more fatal injuries. Also, in an environmental perspective, smoking contributes not only to the issue of global warming but also to the problem of solid waste management. Cigarette butts are made of synthetic polymer material, the same material that plastics are made, which, at best is non-biodegradable. Among the top ten litters identified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States, cigarette butts take the top spot. The move to make universities a smoke-free environment is, therefore, a logical and informed choice. On the other hand, cigarette smoking should not be allowed in the campus premises as much as it should not be allowed in places where smokers and non-smokers dwell. Although some may still recognize smoking as a personal choice, allowing a person to go on smoking is tantamount to allowing the same person to commit suicide.
Works Cited
Litter and Debris in Our Waterways. n.d. November 2014 <http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/debris/toolkit/files/Sec3.litterinwaterways508.pdf>.
McLaren, W. Cigarette Butts: One Huge Problem, Two Solutions. October 2005. November 2014 <http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/cigarette-butts-one-huge-problem-two-solutions.html>.
Talhout, R., Schulz, T., Florek, E., Benthem, J.V., Wester, P., & Opperhuizen, A. "Hazardous Compounds in Tobacco Smoke." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2011): 613 -628.
Tawadrous, M. CIGARETTES: HOW OFTEN THEY CAUSE FIRES? May 2000. November 2014 <http://www.tcforensic.com.au/docs/uts/essay5.pdf>.
