But recently, university officials in Maryland have taken a stand on a number of campuses to regulate public smoking. UMBC and College Park both endorsed plans that limit smoking on campus. In the case of UMCP, individuals are not allowed to smoke indoors or within 15 feet of any building entrance. at UMBC, students cannot smoke within 20 feet of a building entrance, and are restricted in common areas like Academic Row and on the Commons Patio. These policies are met with modest and ineffective enforcement methods.
In recent months, university officials have stepped up their game. Citing second-hand smoke and "butt" littering and driven by the stigma of smoking, officials hope to make their campus more attractive for visitors and prospective students. Last year, the Towson Administration rejected a regulatory plan that would permit smoking only at certain areas on campus. Instead, the Administration called for a completely "smoke-free" campus. The administration is in the process of "recieving feedback" from students on the idea. Students have expressed to me that these sessions have been more informative than conducive to conversation and discourse.
At UMBC, the Residential Life staff stepped up their game and overran the regulations in the policy. They outlined designated smoking areas for students and forced ResLife staff to enforce the policy. UMBC student Paula McCusker fought back, and successfully repealed the expanded interpretation of the Non-Smoking Policy. She tells about her experience on her blog.
CNN highlighted in 2007 trends in "smoke-free" campuses in an article.
The issue raises quite a question for student and campus leaders. Consensus has seemed to develop on the need to regulate smoking somewhat to protect those who choose not to smoke. Secondhand smoke has proven harmful, and it's simply unpleasant to walk through a cloud of cigarette smoke.
But to what extent should it be regulated? One of the major challenges is the lack of enforcement of such policies. Who is to police smoking? Some have suggested campus police and security, but don't they have more important things to be monitoring?
I believe students should have the right to smoke. And, if they live and work on a USM campus, we must find a way to accommodate to their needs and desires. At the same time, we must find ways for others on campus to be able to avoid smoke clouds. The best way to do this is to establish a realistic and respectful plan that allows students and community members to smoke in designated areas that are covered for the rain and snow in heavy-traffic parts of campus and allows students to smoke freely in less-trafficked parts of campus, away from building entrances. Without these accommodations, smokers will return the campus community with the same disrespect afforded to them. And the identified problem will remain.
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39 comments:
I agree with the article...
REALISTIC is the key word when it comes to designing plans like these...
DON'T GO TOO FAR!
I don't see anything wrong with resident students smoking on their balconies or outta their windows.
After all, we're all adults and pay for living here, and, honestly, the rent is not that cheap here at UMBC.
@Josh
I absolutely agree. While I hadn't really given much thought to whether the designated smoking areas in the policy should be mandated or were merely a suggestion when they were only being applied in the academic sector (high traffic), the application of mandated smoking areas to the entire residential sector (low traffic except for near building entrances) seemed unreasonable to me.
Smoking areas do need to be rain-covered if it's going to be required that smokers stay away from buildings, also, I might add.
That being said, I'd like to see greater enforcement of the current policy so that we don't have problems where people begin to think a stricter policy is necessary purely due to lack of effectiveness.
I was a student at Montgomery College before, and trust me, here at UMBC smoking doesn't seem to be a big problem AT ALL compared to M.C. I've been here for couple semesters now, and barely saw any smokers on campus. At M.C., we literally had every entrance of every building surrounded by crowds of smokers.
So I'm not complaining, UMBC is a lot better off than many other state schools.
I don't see any problem with people smoking in private areas. I do have a problem with people smoking in public places though. If you were asthmatic and would have an asthma attack if you were near cigarette smoke, then you wouldn't want people smoking on any public walkways. Avoiding someone who's smoking would require you to take another path the long way around, which gets to be a major pain after a while. And smoking around anyone, asthmatic or not, is basically forcing them to inhale the smoke and mess up their lungs. It's just not right.
second-hand smoke is simply unpleasant. there is no health danger in smelling an unpleasant odor, for a very brief amount of time. Look I'm all for a society of fear and regulation, but I really don't need to be hassled anymore about smoking.
Dude, I don't want to be mean, but there is a health danger for certain people. Okay, half a second of smoke is not going to hurt most of us, but anyone with a breathing problem could die from that little bit of smoke. And just a tip: Sarcasm isn't the greatest way to come across as a mature adult.
As a person with asthma, I do find it very unhelpful if someone is smoking around me because I get migraines around people who smoke, even if it is just the smell. Not only that, my heart starts palpitating really weirdly, and it hurts.
Now I'm not saying that there should absolutely be no smoking on campus. I definitely agree that there should be designated areas in which smokers can smoke to their hearts' content, that are easily accessible between classes and meals and various activities.
Give me a break. This is how morons push their agenda, they exxagerate. I have YET to see a cloud of smoke coming from any area due to a group of smokers. The smoke dissipates quickly. Hell, it's not like they're smoking indoors.
As a former smoker, I think the habit is nasty. However, these students are paying just as much as you holier than thou non-smokers. I do not agree with littering the butts all over the grounds, there are receptacles for the butts. Smokers should at least put some effort into cleaning up after themselves.
But quit the constant whining about smoking. For Christs sake, there's a lot more important things to worry about.
Were in college now. Wise up. Dont smoke. And dont force anyone else to second hand smoke. It is disgusting for anyone who does not smoke, and we should not have to walk through it. EVER.
If people are allowed to smoke around non-smokers, should the non-smokers have rights to spray whatever kind of noxious chemicals around at the smokers.
Smoking harms even the people who dont. Therefore it should not be allowed. No one has the right, to force me to inhale their second hand smoke. Yet it happens every day at UMBC. It gets old real fast. They have every right to smoke themselves as long as it does not affect anyone else at all. Being on campus, smoking will most always affect other people that would rather you not smoke. Therefore it should not be allowed.
SMOKING SHOULD BECOME MANDATORY at UMBC! lol
Ha. At least they're not smoking indoors? Give me a break. Even if I smoked I wouldn't want to do it indoors. Have you ever tried to get the smell of smoke out of walls/carpet/etc? Plus there's the smoke detectors to contend with (at least in dorm rooms, where you'd have to be awfully careful and smoke out a window which is almost the same as just doing it outdoors anyway).
And while it's not my business if you smoke or not, it's CERTAINLY my business when it encroaches on my freedom to breathe properly.
If I were less reserved, I would knock the cigarette out of the offenders' hand in an area such as academic row that I HAVE to go through every school day. It's just plain rude. I'm not for banning it altogether, as that would never pass anyway, and I think people should be allowed to make their own decisions, (as long as they don't threaten others' rights) but it needs to be stopped in high traffic areas where it can't be easily avoided. Blacken your lungs on your own time, but don't get me involved.
Saying second hand smoke in areas like that is perfectly fine and even supporting it is ridiculous from any angle. Have you seen MRIs of people exposed to second hand smoke? It CLEARLY has an impact, and I don't want any exposure to it that I don't need, even if it is "harmless" for that time being.
@Smokey Bandit
Smokers may be paying just as much as everyone else, but that's for the right to live on campus and take classes there. Not for the right to expose others to their smoke. I have no issues with smokers, as long as they don't bother everyone else.
And this problem is (hopefully) something that is fairly easy to solve, which is why we're trying to solve it. Yes, there may be more important things. But if there's something that we know we can solve, we shouldn't ignore it for that reason.
Second-hand smoke is just as deadly, if not more, than smoking and so people should be more considerate of non-smokers b/c second-hand smoke is actually more harmful as i heard from my dad who is in health care and is way older then us.
Smoking should be banned from campus b/c there is more non-smokers than smokers, if you want to ruin your own health, fine by me but is not fair to other people who care about their health for you to ruin it by smoking.
Smoking is a digusting and expensive habit but..
Everything you do, from smoking to simple breathing has an effect on those around you. The 5 seconds of smoke you get from walking through the smokers outside Sondheim or the Commons isn't going to kill you. Being free means letting others be free too. So drop the petty tyranny and let the smokers enjoy their vice.
There are always people smoking at one of the entrances of Erikson. Is this against the policy? They sit on this one wooden bench right by the door. I must say it is quite disgusting. I hold my breath whenever I pass them.
I agree with the suggestions leaning towards abolishment or at least restriction on smoking. Yes, we are both paying the same amount of money but based on majority ruling..the non-smoking population dominates. Its disgusting, in no way beneficial to anything at all and too much of a risk/hazard. I cannot stand being subjected to encounters with smoke. They give me headaches and just make me sick. Smoking is a personal decision and to each its own; but as a non-smoker, I should have my right to clean air respiratory interaction respected.
I am a smoker and I will agree that the smell is disgusting....but seriously since when does the way someone smells give anyone the right to tell them what to do. I smoke on campus and I dare anyone to smack a cigarette from my hand. Its ridiculous that I am 23 years old and still feel like a 16 year old trying to sneak a cigarette in high school. I understand being bothered by large clouds of smoke, but my lonely cigarette in a distant corner where no one walks, IS MY CHOICE!!
You choose to breathe fresh air I choose a menthol buzz. Leave smokers alone and get over yourselves.
I'm kind of surprised that no one yet has mentioned the parallel of car exhaust to cigarette smoke. Car exhaust is a noxious gas. No one "has to" drive on campus. Maybe cars should be banned as well? Some people also find foul language more offensive than cigarette smoke. Maybe there should be a ban on certain words. You see where I'm going here. It's hard(and wrong) to discriminate against this one group of people who are participating in a LEGAL activity and not others.
As some people above me said, the best solution is probably to give smokers certain areas that are away from building entrances and make sure that they are covered. Many smokers would smoke in this area voluntarily, so I don't think enforcement would be a step that is necessary.
I personally could give two shites whether someone smokes or not.
If you do, at least clean up your butts. It's amazing to see how many butts never make it to a trash can or ashtray that is literally inches away from where people throw their butts.
o7 anon
THE BOTTOM LINE IS...
We're all adults here and should respect other people's freedom of choice and privacy at UMBC. I mean, c'mon, this is life! When you go to a nightclub or a restaurant, can you openly confront smokers hanging out at the entrance?! Or can you diss smokers waiting at the bus stop? I DON'T THINK SO! They would simply call the security or police on you!
Therefore, leave smokers alone at UMBC. I've been at UMCP recently & trust me, it is much bigger problem down there than here at UMBC. I'm an occasional smoker myself and I'm not against designated smoking zones if that makes everyone happy...
But banning smoking?! Sounds completely ridiculous to me! Get the hell outta here!
***TOPIC CLOSED***
even if there was a ban on tobacco, it still wouldn't stop people from smoking in places where they shouldn't.
for example, i work in st. agnes hospital in the infant ward. people smoke in the bathrooms in the hospital by the neonatal intensive care unit. they unscrew the smoke detector and smoke IN THE HOSPITAL. BY THE SICK BABIES. THE BABIES WHO ARE ON RESPIRATORS AND COULD DIE. we break in the bathrooms, tell people that they need to put out the cigarette, they do, then an hour later, they are doing it again.
people are just ignorant.
the people that says smoking doesn't hurt people more than smoking are idiots. If asmatics walked through smoke, even for five seconds, and they did not have an inhaler, the smoker is going to be sued or something if the asmatic has an attack and dies b/c an athasma attack, if is bad enough can kill you.
You cannot ban cars or foul language b/c they cant hurt your health like smoking can. i see having the freedom is good but UMBC has more non-smokers than smokers. so quit your commplaining and just smoke off campus, its not that hard especially if you have a car, even if you dont you can walk somewhere off campus and smoke. the non-smoker population is larger and majority rules.
Smokers, get off your lazy ass and just walk or drive off campus to smoke, even if its a block off campus.
All of Montgomery College's campuses are smoke free. So the idea of it isn't possible for my eyes atleast. And as one who is cronically allergic to smoke-- yes, my friends call me the human smoke dectector when i start to break into hives after walking through a plume of smoke, a more enforced policy would benifit my overall health. I think that if there were designated zones such as the lower patio outside the commons or the feild by erikson it would be a compermise for all. Those who are made phyiscally ill by smoke and those who enjoy killing themselves slowely.
I have a problem believing that the last two commenters even attend UMBC. Your abortion of the English language and inability to spell the most basic words is what should be banned from campus. And no, "asmatics" won't sue somebody because they have an attack related to a person's smoke. If that person is smoking in a lawfully designated area, then the "asmatic" (as you illiterately spelled it) has no recourse.
Perhaps we should get one of those ebonics to English translators on this blog so some of the people don't sound so damn stupid. I'm sure you bring delight to every professor when you walk in the room.
@ a lot of people
I'm concerned because I feel like facts are being made up / twisted here.
Yes, indoor secondhand smoke has been shown to have negative health ramifications, which is why smoking is not allowed anywhere indoors in public spaces as per Maryland law.
However, the policy as stated by UMBC and many posters on this blog cite these negative health ramifications as reasons to ban outdoor smoking, but I am not aware of any studies showing negative health ramifications from outdoor secondhand smoke.
I agree that the smoke can be bothersome to past smokers, asthmatics, and people who dislike the smell, which is why I can't disagree that smoking should be limited in high-traffic areas such as near building entrances and along academic row. However, I feel like complaints about having to walk AROUND smokers on sidewalks/paths around campus are sort of biased here. Should smokers have to walk around you to smoke, if the true effect of the secondhand smoke is simply annoyance? What makes the convenience of a majority more valid than the convenience of a minority? Should we apply this majority v. minority argument to other walks of life as well?
I think a much-needed solution here, at UMBC, is to improve the designated smoking areas along academic row and in Residential Life to include rain/wind cover, replace the ashtrays among legal (but not designated) smoking areas/paths, such as placing ashtrays around the edges of academic row so smokers can dispose of cigarettes properly upon entering these areas, and to clarify the meaning of the actual policy in place and enforce its tenets.
If students feel that the policy is more unreasonable than it actually is then they are much more likely to disregard it. Asking a student to move 15 feet is much more reasonable than asking a student to walk to a designated smoking area 200 feet away.
Why is everyone so worried about health dangers of a cigarette smoke all of a sudden?
I mean, most UMBC students are already consuming loads of alcohol and greasy fast food on a daily basis, so you guys were never healthy to begin with!
Just put some designated smoking areas around the campus and stop complaining! We have some bigger problems to take care of!
Some airports have a smoking area where it is covered in mirror like a room. Smokers can enjoy their smoking without having to worry about cigarette smoke pass on to other people.
@The Truth
...Because not everyone that is complaining drinks alcohol or eats greasy food all the time? Just taking a guess. Also, I'd say that since I don't tend to do either of those, I have every right to complain. If you don't like listening to complaints, it is very simple to navigate to another website. ;)
There already are designated areas, but smokers are currently NOT required to smoke there. In addition, they are rather shoddily equipped for inclement weather, basically discouraging people from smoking there altogether, opting instead to smoke in high-traffic areas, which I find quite an issue.
They can smoke in any location 20 feet from a building, if what I am reading is correct. I am NOT against people smoking. I just think that if they do smoke they should go somewhere where they aren't making other people breathe smoke who would not like to.
I will concede that the fact there is even a smoking policy is a discrimination against smokers to an extent. BUT, the fact that there is not really an effective policy to protect non-smokers who would not prefer to breathe second-hand smoke for whatever reason is also discrimination, in my book.
Oh, and also, a study showing exposure to secondhand smoke outdoors is a significant health risk by stanford: Exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke in outdoor settings a risk, study shows
IDIOTS! just because you sepll something wrong on this blog doesnt mean you dont do well at UMBC. i go to UMBC and i am a very excellent speller, i just made a mistake.
As for smokers, you are SELFISH. all you care about is where are you going to smoke, well boohoo to you, stop complaining and just walk that 20 feet away from a building. Don't you guys care more about your own and other people's health.
By the way, smoking is a much riskier and faster way of killing yourself or having lots of health issues than is eating fast food and drinking, b/c smoking and second hand smoke goes right to your lungs and stays there so you cant do anything about the risks of smoking but you can always do something about your obesity and exercise, or you can always quit drinking. it is easier to quit drinking than it is smoking.
thanks all for the comments. let's try to keep it clean and respectful. that's all i ask.
I want to remind about one of the best colleges in MD. Montgomery College has a rule that Smoking is not allowed inside any part of the Campus. We're here at UMBC only to study. Let's make it strict and help the non-smoking students to be away from passive-smoking.
Am I the only one who likes the smell of cigarette smoke? I don't even smoke, but I don't mind walking behind someone who does. Cmon guys, the whole "second hand causes cancer" thing is for people who live in houses where someone smokes, not someone who inhales a little when walking to class.
@ Anonymous #236x67qr7
Thanks for posting that link. It provided a lot of insight and is indeed the first study of its kind.
I appreciated the amount of detail included in the article, including the statistic about 6 feet being a fairly safe distance from a single smoker.
I know I personally never take a drag within 20-30 feet of anyone. While this doesn't eliminate the air pollution from the cigarette entirely I feel that it cuts down on the smell/discomfort for them.
Also, because of reasons like discomfort and what was found in this study, I agree that smoking should be limited near buildings and along academic row.
As a matter of fact, I have yet to really hear any smokers complain about this aspect of the policy. I feel like there is a disconnect here. Non-smokers are complaining about smoke being blown in their face as they try to attend classes and smokers are complaining about the stupidity of required designated smoking areas.
Yet neither of these situations is the case. There is a middle ground and we have reached it, albeit enforcement is lacking.
What would everyone think if the actual policy was enforced more strictly but the policy itself remained the same, I wonder?
Wow, some abrasive comments since I posted last... (I am the anon who linked to the study previously)
@minteh
Actually, I think I came into this with the wrong angle. I agree about the disconnect thing though but I only saw this from a non-smoker's perspective of course.
I think what we need is a way to dispose of cigarettes by academic row which I believe was suggested earlier or maybe something to divert smoking away from high traffic areas, maybe making the designated areas more comfortable or something (I'm not good at that type of thing but I guess you get the idea).
However, I guess I agree that the current policy is ok, but the facts remain regarding its enforcement. It's kind of hard to believe to me since I've heard the police are really strict here at UMBC (though I haven't had any problems with them).
I only commented because the article is very relevant and interesting to me and I like to argue for some reason. In any case, it was a really good article, kudos to Josh.
As a student at UMCP who does NOT smoke, this ban needs to be regulated further. Many students continue to smoke next to the doorway, because they get to the building that their class is in and decide to finish their cigarette. What sucks about this is that I, the non-smoker, must walk through the smelly cloud of smoke in order to get to my classroom, because these inconsiderate students must "finish their cigarettes". When the main door opens to let in the non-smokers, the smoke from these inconsiderate smokerse travels down the hallway and the ENTIRE first floor smells like smoke. This is very frustrating as a student who is allergic to smoke. On rainy and snowy days I would not go to class, because I knew that smokers would be standing outside of the doorway to seek cover from the elements. Why should my education suffer because of my allergy to this disgusting habit?
~A very disgruntled anti-smoker
I wish I didn't have to breath in someone elses pollutant. Smokers should smoke in an airtight room and breath it in themselves. But those who do not smoke are suppose to accomadate an offensive harmful habit. Umbc...make your campus smoke free!
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