THERE'S a new breed of outcasts in the 21st century. In public places, these people are separated from everyone else and relegated to dank corners. In the winter, they are forced to stand outside in the cold, no matter how low the temperature is. They are sneered at and spat upon. They are the pariahs of society. Who are they? Lepers? Ex-cons? Kenny G. fans?
None of the above: They are smokers, and they go through a lot. They get contemptuous glares every time they light up, lectures on how stupid they are for having such a vice and, in most states, they have to pay an enormous sin tax for cigarettes. Students at the University who smoke deal with these things every day, and their troubles could increase. Recently a Washington-based organization called the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has been lobbying colleges and universities to eliminate tobacco from housing.
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Here's an idea: Give smokers a break already. Making the lives of student smokers even more difficult than they are already is pointless, not to mention hypocritical.
Currently, the University allows smoking in individual residence hall rooms as long as both roommates consent, and smoking is forbidden in common areas. This policy is fair, because it allows smokers to smoke in their own rooms if they wish without exposing any non-smokers to the smell or harmful effects of second-hand smoke.
Sure, barring smoking from all housing could mean fewer students take up smoking, but it's not going to do much to students who already smoke besides make their lives a bit more difficult.
Smokers know as much about the dangers of smoking as the rest of us do: They know it causes cancer and emphysema and all manner of unpleasant things. Smokers know all this because they've had it shoved down their throats many a time, and none of it really helps them quit.
People seem to think that making smokers' lives miserable will force them to quit, but that isn't really true. For the most part, smokers will find ways to get around all sorts of anti-smoking measures thrown at them. If they live in smoke-free residence halls, they will simply go outside to light up. Most smokers are tenaciously hooked on their habit, because a more serious mental addiction outweighs the physical one. A lot of smokers think of cigarette breaks as the only time they really have to themselves to relax, and the prospect of giving that up may seem impossible.
Because there is a strong psychological dependency, all the hoops smokers are forced to jump through and the lectures they're given aren't going to be enough to make them quit. For many smokers who try to quit, beating cigarettes will be the hardest thing they do in their lives. A guilt trip or other punishment will not cause people to do something that hard. External pressure isn't going to do it, no matter how much or how long smoking opponents nag. The strength and will to conquer the addiction has to come from the inside. Smokers have to really want it for themselves and be committed to it before they'll be successful.
Putting smokers through hell is also hypocritical in a way that can be expressed through the old adage that "people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones." People who give smokers a hard time should take a long hard look at themselves before they begin to lambaste other people for their weakness. Everyone has vices. Some people consume too much alcohol; others spread rumors and backstab friends; still others are workaholics.
Some of these vices are even as detrimental to people's health as smoking is, but strangely - and unfairly - smokers are singled out for criticism. Overweight people, for example, face as many serious health problems as smokers. People who are overweight are more likely to develop problems such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, certain types of cancer, gout and gallbladder disease. The problem is widespread: New federal guidelines estimate that 55 percent of American adults - that's 97 million people - are either overweight or obese ("Obesity and Being Overweight," www.webmd.com), and only a few of them are completely unable to prevent it due to genetic issues. People who are overweight do just as much to destroy their health as smokers, and yet smokers are the only ones branded as being needlessly and willfully self-destructive.
The bottom line is that no one's perfect. Until the people who criticize smokers are themselves slim, gloriously healthy individuals who don't drink alcohol or caffeine and actually obey those crazy food pyramids by consuming the recommended eight glasses of water and five servings of vegetables a day, they should bite their own imperfect tongues.
(Laura Sahramaa is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. She can be reached at lsahramaa@cavalierdaily.com.)
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