The great smoke off

WANTNEEDO by Kalan Lyra

The current smoking policy at UHCL, approved by the University Life Committee Jan. 23, 2008, applies to all university controlled and owned property
– except the University Forest Apartments. The policy states that the university is a smoke-free campus, except for officially posted designated areas.

Within each designated smoking area, there is a state-mandated, non-smoking zone that extends 10 feet outward from building entrances.

There has been some confusion on campus about the smoking policy at UHCL.

At this time, the signage is sparse and the construction on campus has made designated smoking areas difficult to find. Hopefully, this will change soon. ULC reviewed the policy Nov. 4.

PRO

Rose Pulido

The Signal

Not only is the UHCL smoking policy unenforceable, but it can only be found by students, faculty or anyone seeking employment opportunities with
the college in our Human Resources policies and procedures.

Buried deep in the UHCL website under Employment Opportunities, there is an HR Policies and Procedures link where the current smoking policy can
be found.

The policy states enforcement relies heavily on a shared responsibility of each member of the university community. Therefore, if someone sees a smoker
lighting up in an undesignated area, he/she should ask the smoker to please relocate or put out his/her cigarette. If that person refuses, the university police can then be called.

Should anyone from the university community happen to stumble upon the misplaced policy, there is still confusion regarding the appropriate standards
due to mixed messages.

To get technical, under UHCL’s HR policy 12.5 (aka the smoking policy), it states in section 5.3 that “ashtrays, which cannot be physically moved, will
be located in designated smoking areas.”

This is quite interesting since there is a designated ashtray outside the undesignated Cappuccino Bono where there are no signs posted. Smokers are
unknowingly encouraged to violate the policy.

Smokers understand the risks of their carcinogenic fix and secondhand smoke. Unfortunately, there are those with asthma and allergies who feel as
if those risks are being deliberately imposed on them. Unfortunately, even when people stay within designated smoking areas, smoke travels beyond the
boundaries.

It’s also true that the UHCL campus should be preserved as much as possible. Smokers, pick up your butts. Not only does it keep the campus litter free, but some small animals mistake them for food. And, please exercise common courtesy. Do no smoke around entrances and pathways. The result could be a complete smoke-free campus.

Nevertheless, it is truly unfortunate that smokers are thought of and treated like common criminals. The fact is, however, cigarettes are legal. Just because cigarette smoke knows no boundaries, nonsmokers should not judge because no laws are being broken.

Until UHCL effectively and systematically enforces smoking policies and procedures, smokers will continue to get mixed messages on where the designated smoking areas are located. Once UHCL quits blowing smoke regarding the policy, smokers will quit blowing undesignated smoke on unintended victims.

CON

Melissa Waller

The Signal

Welcome to UHCL.

While it is a smoker’s right to light up, it is a nonsmoker’s right to live. Allergies and asthma plague many UHCL students and staff, so why is it that our campus is not a smoke-free zone?

UHCL is a “smoking-restricted campus,” where smoking is allowed only in designated areas.

In theory, this works. However, cigarette smoke does not stay in the designated area. It wafts across sidewalks, parking lots and stairways into the nonsmoking areas.

This happens frequently outside the Bayou Building at Patio Cafe. While the covered area is a designated smoking area, it also happens to be the main entrance to the building.

Even a mild breeze can cause cigarette smoke to blow toward the entrance and right at the people walking through the entrance doors.
Apparently, cigarette smoke should know not to cross imaginary lines.

The main problem, however, is smokers are not restricting their puffing to the designated areas. They are lighting up as soon as they exit the doors and walk between buildings or to the parking lot with cigarette smoke trailing behind.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that secondhand smoke contains at least 250 known toxic chemicals, including more than 50 that can cause cancer. While there are 45 million adult smokers in the U.S., there are 126 million nonsmokers who are exposed to secondhand smoke.

Common courtesy has not gone out of style. It is something that all people should possess regardless of smoking preference and should not have to be
regulated.

Smokers should be considerate and refrain from smoking on sidewalks and parking lots. In some areas, there is only one walkway and it is literally impossible for nonsmokers to avoid walking through a cloud of smoke.

Also, how hard is it to put your butts out in the ashtrays instead of flicking them to the ground? This is not only an aesthetic concern, but also a fire hazard. We should be proud of our campus and refrain from littering as well as not setting our campus on fire.

Since UHCL opened in 1974, the land has served as a wildlife preserve for various animals such as deer, squirrels, raccoons, alligators and snakes. Discarded cigarette butts are detrimental to campus wildlife.

The UHCL smoking policy is unenforceable, relying on other students and faculty to act as the smoke police. It is really up to people to act considerate of others.

If consideration is something that cannot be had, then UHCL should become an all-out nonsmoking campus. Then there would be no confusion about the policy and those who suffer from allergies and asthma would not have to worry. Also, there would not be an abundance of discarded cigarette butts littering the ground.

Until these issues are resolved, nonsmokers hold your breath and brave the sidewalks of UHCL.