usakochan.net

This post is in response to the following articles, one which I agree whole-heartedly on, the other…well, not so much.

Western Should Be Smoke Free
Column Offensive to Smokers

Lisa Hunt makes a great case. We all know smoking is unhealthy for those who do it and the people around them. Second-hand smoke kills. It makes people feel ill. It makes it so people can’t breathe. Why do people feel it is their right to harm others just so they can get their fix to keep them going for the next 10 minutes?

I, personally, am sick of waiting at a bus stop or walking to my art classes and having to walk through clouds of toxic smoke. Yes, there is the 25 foot law, but it is hardly enforced. Every day there are people right outside the art building entrances, chain smoking like there’s no tomorrow. I have to walk through these doors to get to class. There’s no other way!

Just like Lisa, I can’t stop my lungs, and I cannot hold my breath for very long. I often do slow down while walking behind someone who smokes, perhaps because I’m not in much of a hurry to get places. But should I have to? No. I can personally risk being a little late to class just because my classes always start a few minutes late anyway. But, not everyone has this luxury.

I don’t disrespect smokers just because they smoke. It is their right, after all. But I feel smokers disrespect non-smokers by blowing it in their faces, or lighting up while standing right next to us. They never ask if we mind, they just do it. Where is the respect there? And I feel if I were to ask them to move away they would just get angry with me and tell me to move instead. Respect is a two way road. Respect my right to be healthy by smoking in low-traffic-away-from-building areas, and I’ll respect your right to smoke.

A completely smoke free campus would be nice, but I think it is a bit unfair. Some people can’t help their addictions. I would at least love to see bus stops on campus be smoke free, and having the 25-foot rule fully enforced. Designated smoking areas would be okay if they are placed well. At Olympic College they were not. Non-smokers would still have to dodge the smoke because they put them next to heavy-traffic areas.

Katie Bush has her points too. It is her right to smoke, and that shouldn’t be taken away from her. However, I think being healthy is a more important right, one that the majority of people in America seem to embrace. Designated smoking areas would not take away her right to smoke. It would give us our “God-given right” to enjoy the fresh air of the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Yes, it is her right to smoke, but it is not her right to cause harm to others. Other things that cause harm to others tend to be illegal. Take this example: driving a car is legal; driving a car recklessly is illegal because it can cause harm.

A great point has been made by my boyfriend. He said that if people can smoke everywhere they want, then people should be able to do other things wherever they want. Masturbating, for example. It causes no harm to anyone. The only reason it isn’t allowed is because of the values of the country. Apparently one giving themselves self pleasure is more offensive than endangering several person’s health. Masturbation doesn’t harm anyone. The only harm it can cause is mental, and that is only because, again, the values of American society. Sex is the devil. Violence, drugs, and alcohol are just another part of life that are allowed in public areas every day.

Cigarette smoke is not just something I can ignore. I wish I could, but it’s impossible. I have to breathe too!