Schriever 1

Blake Schriever

Professor Lawson

English 113B

26 April 2017

Project Text: Final Draft

Words: 1783

Smoking Bans on College Campus

In the world today, smokers top cause of cancer happens in the lungs. Tobacco products

have been around for about two hundred years. Tobacco users have put themselves in more

danger with the chemicals that cause many smokers to have health concerns down the road.

Everywhere a person goes they will see a tobacco user either on the sidewalk, in a vehicle, or

even at someones house. Tobacco is an addicting product that causes a lot of users to become a

user for life. In California, the government has passed a bill to increase the legal age to buy

tobacco products from the age of eighteen to twenty-one. This is major for college age students.

Within the last few years, the California State Universities have put smoking and tobacco bans

on college campuses. As of October 1st, 2016, there are now at least 1,713 100% smoke free

campuses. Of these, 1,427 are also 100% tobacco-free, 1,288 also prohibit e-cigarette use, 621

also prohibit hookah use, and 93 also prohibit smoking/vaping marijuana (Colleges and

Universities). Bans lead smokers to cause less harm to their bodies, to less of a chance for second

hand smoke to occur, and to less waste of tobacco products polluting the college campus.

Therefore, the state of California should impose that college campuses have a ban on tobacco

products.

The power of the media toward tobacco products have changed severally from the
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twentieth century to the twenty-first century. Phillip Morris in the twentieth century mass

produced commercial ads on television, on billboards, and in the newspapers (About Philip

Morris). The growth of the tobacco industry skyrocket with their wide spread marketing push.

Their goal was to glamorize smoking to encourage all levels of the mass population. Do to their

marketing strategy they became one of the highest grossing industries of the twentieth century.

Towards the end of the twentieth century to the twenty-first century the products were becoming

extremely known for being a cancer product; something that you cannot have without and

something that hurts your body that cannot get out of your system (About Philip Morris). While

knowledge was spreading around, like the black plague, people were starting to try and not use

the product but by that time it was a highly addictive drug.

Into the twenty-first century, doctors revealed that a person does not need to have smoked

a cigarette to get lung cancer, but just being around a smoker can lead to second hand smoke that

ends up giving that person cancer. This was the turning point of the cigarette/tobacco usage at

sporting events, schools, amusement parks, work offices, and even in housing apartments. The

business of tobacco products started taking a major dip and commercials were no longer

acceptable for these companies to produce (About Philip Morris). The pop culture of smoking

coming from the twentieth century to the twenty-first century still exists but not clearly as much

as it did from the twentieth century. Bans have taken over and are causing smokers to stop or

wait till they are in an area where it is legal.

California has made millions of dollars on putting a huge tax on tobacco products. The

California Supreme Court ruling on taxation of tobacco and its health concerns took a while to

make a decision, but after ruling the Judges stated, Tobacco Tax and Health Protection Act of

1988 is Constitutional a statutory initiative, approved by a majority of the electorate, that

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increases taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco related products and allocates the revenue raised

to address tobacco related problems does not violate the provisions of the California State

Constitution related to changes in State taxes for the purpose of increasing revenue or the single

subject rule (Cigarette and Tobacco). These taxes where not just raised to make money for the

state but also to make it harder for people to purchase tobacco products with the rise of pricing.

With the knowledge of the body toward these products, the states are moving toward the younger

generation with bans on high school and college campuses.

This ban is important to help young adults have healthier bodies. According to the doctors

in the article, "Smoking Cessation Rates in the United States: A Comparison of Young Adult and

Older Smokers, stated, Young adults (aged 18-24 years) were more likely than were older

adults (aged 35-64 years) to report having seriously tried to quit and to have quit for 6 months or

longer (Messer). This shows that having a ban on college campuses will help student stop using

the products when in college and hopefully for life. Young adult bodies are not entirely

developed and smoking will just hurt these students health eventually. Dr. Lee stated in his

analysis, Smokers smoke their first cigarette by age 18 (Lee). Now that colleges are

implementing these bans and passing the bills to twenty-one, young adults have a less

opportunity now to smoke at a young age while continuing to keep the bodies healthy and

developing without any setbacks of tobacco products. This new ban for colleges will lead to

healthier students rather than students hurting their bodies.

Society has accepted that adults can decide to harm themselves to some extent, so long as

they do not harm others; however, non-smokers can still have lung cancer without even smoking

a cigarette. In the article, The Bogus 'Science' of Secondhand Smoke, author Gio Gori explains

that secondhand smoke is a clear health rise and that the government needs to lend a hand to
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help non-smokers. Some policymakers and activist or even claiming that the government should

crack down on secondhand smoke exposure, given what "the science" indicates about such

exposure (Gori). Having smokers on college campuses will lead non-smokers to a bigger

chance to have lung cancer. Secondhand smoke kills tens of thousands of Americans every year

and causes serious life-threatening illnesses to thousands more (Secondhand Smoke Toxic).

With students walking from class to class taking in smoke, their bodies will not feel like anything

different till years later when they go to the hospital to get a checkup and learn that they have

cancer due to tobacco. This type of smoke has higher concentrations of cancer-causing agents

(carcinogens) and is more toxic than mainstream smoke. It also has smaller particles than

mainstream smoke. These smaller particles make their way into the lungs and the bodys cells

more easily (Health Risks Smoke). Higher risk for non-smokers to have cancer is not right

for them to be around smokers and is their right to have fresher air around them. With the chance

of giving someone else cancer the smoking ban with help non-smokers become safer from

getting cancer.

Smoking hurts the environment and makes campuses look disgusting. Worldwide,

smokers toss at least 4.5 trillion cigarette butts each year -- litter that causes significant

environmental harm (Cigarette Butts Cause). Littering on college campuses makes the campus

look unprofessional with incoming students visiting and college presidents of the college

visiting. Three cigarettes can cause more air pollution than a diesel car's exhaust, according to

an Italian study (Hitti). The extravagance of this is a major concern to our nation and nations of

this world. Many environmentalists are concerned about the air pollution and are trying to find a

way to contain the situation. With the ban of smoking products on campuses, this will help the

air pollution around the college and the United States.

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Littering cigarette butts are also extremely dangerous. Every year the Fire & Rescue

NSW (FRNSW) is called to hundreds of roadside fires believed to be caused by discarded butts

(Can Cigarette Butts). An example of this was in 2000 when a fire broke out in Chatsworth

California. Apparently sparked by a stray cigarette tore through a single-story home Friday

morning, causing more than $90,000 in damage, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Fire

Department said (Can Cigarette Butts). If this were to happen on a college campus there is a

major risk of civilians that could get injured and the property damage could be catastrophic.

Millions of dollars would be destroyed if building were damaged. Having a ban will keep

chemicals from smoke and the pollution of buds on campuses become healthier for the students.

The pop culture of smoking in movies has died down. Smoking bans on college campuses

are very important to have across the country. It will help with the health of young adults by

making them smoke less throughout the day while they are on college campuses. Also,

secondhand smoke will prevent fewer students from developing lung cancer. The less of a chance

one can breathe in smoke will be harness on the smoker by following the rules set forth by the

administrators at the college. Lastly the environment will be a lot healthier with less air pollution

caused by smokers. The littering of butts around and on the college campus will be greatly

appreciated by student, faculty, and visitors at the college. While the chance of a fire is

sometimes caused by cigarette butts left on the ground, the campus will zero threat of a fire being

started. These bans will end up saving lives of smokers and non-smokers while keeping the

pollution to an all-time low.

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Works Cited

"About Philip Morris USA." Philip Morris USA. Altria Group. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.

"Can Cigarette Butts Start Bushfires?" Fire and Rescue. NSW, Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

"Cigarette and Tobacco Products Tax Law." Board of Equalization, State of California. Ca.Gov.

Web. 16 Apr. 2017.

"Cigarette Butts Cause Environmental Pollution." Yahoo! News. 24 May 1999. Web. 18 Apr.

2017.

"Colleges and Universities." Americans for Nonsmokers Rights. 13 Apr. 2017. Web. 16 Apr.

2017.

Gori, Gio Batta. "The Bogus 'Science' of Secondhand Smoke." The Washington Post. WP

Company, 30 Jan. 2007. Web. 18 Apr. 2017.

Health Risks of Secondhand Smoke. Health Risks of Secondhand Smoke. American Cancer

Society, 13 Nov. 2015. Web. 17 Apr.2017

Hitti, Miranda. Smoking Worse Than Exhaust for Air Pollution. WebMD, 23 Aug. 2004. Web.

18 Apr. 2017

Lee, Philip R. "Preventing Tobacco Use Among Young People: A Report of the Surgeon

General." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. Department of Health &

Human Services, 11 Mar. 1994. Web. 16 Apr. 2017.

Messer, Karen, Dennis R. Trinidad, Wael K. Al-Delaimy, and John P. Pierce. "Smoking

Cessation Rates in the United States: A Comparison of Young Adult and Older Smokers."

American Journal of Public Health. American Public Health Association, Feb. 2008.

Web. 16 Apr. 2017.

Secondhand Smoke Is Toxic. Tobacco Free CA. 1 July 2016. Web. 18 Apr. 2017