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The University of Iowa announced that they will be going smoke free next year...
I have asthma and allergies. At a checkup with my allergist during my first year of college my doctor asked me out of curiosity how many students I see smoking on campus. We laughed at the students who would go be outside the dorms smoking at midnight in the middle of winter. He commented that he believed no one would smoke in 20 to 25 years.Smoking already had been banned in various facilities around campus and within 25 feet of building entrances. On Monday, UI president Sally Mason announced UI was taking the next step recommended earlier by a task force: banning smoking altogether on its campus beginning July 1, 2009.
Mason said in a news release that employees and students will have access to smoking cessation programs and services at either no cost or sharply discounted rates.
I applaud the University of Iowa for being proactive and deciding to do this. With the University of Iowa Hospital right there, they see first hand the health consequences of smoking. This decision will help cut down on the number of people who smoke and maybe in 20 to 25 years smoking will be relic from the past.
2 comments:
I, too, have allergies. They need to ban all types of perfume, cologne, and scented lotions on campus! Also, car exhaust is bad for your health - so they should ban all cars, too!
Look - there are some legitimate reasons to ban things that pose 2nd hand health risks - and banning smoking indoors addresses that. But why outside? They already have the 25 foot ban near entrances!
Your argument for an all-campus smoking ban extends beyond the 2nd hand health risks and infringes on personal freedom - you claim an advantage of wiping out smoking completely in 20 years.
Using your logic, we should ban all fatty foods, all sugary drinks, all loud music, alcohol, and build a dome around campus to protect people from harmful UV rays.
What a joke.
It doesn't matter.
I'm an Iowa student. I'm on campus every day, and every day I walk in and out of buildings where folks are smoking at the door.
Problem is, there's already a ban on smoking on campus within 28 feet of entrances to buildings.
What difference does a new rule make if they aren't enforcing the first one?
Big deal about nothing.
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