Table of contents
- introduction
- Arguments for smoking on campus
- Arguments against smoking on campus
- reconciliation of the two positions.
- Smoking on Campus: Conclusion of the Essay
- Works Cited
introduction
The idea of ​​smoking on college campuses has garnered a mixed response in the US and many other parts of the world, sparking a very hot and contentious general debate.
Several campuses and universities have attempted to enforce a total smoking ban in their local area, some with success, some without success. For example, universities like Santa Ana and Fullerton have managed to completely ban smoking in their local areas, while others like Huntington Beach and Golden West College still allow smoking in regulated places like parking lots.
Fullerton College was the first to successfully enforce a smoking ban in 2007 (Bates 57). However, many colleges and campuses have not done so, as some state laws state that smoking is only banned inside buildings and within 20 feet of building entrances on all campuses. These laws continue to grant students the right to smoke in certain areas of their campus.
Arguments for smoking on campus
As previously noted, Section 7595 of the Government Code states that smoking is only banned in public buildings and within 20 feet of building entrances on all campuses (Merrill 36). Since it is every citizen's right to do whatever is recognized as legal, opponents of this issue believe that imposing a total smoking ban, especially on college campuses, is very wrong.
The most important thing is to ensure that students follow the set rules and regulations, such as: B. Strict use of recommended smoking areas. In fact, sending students off campus to smoke is very unfair.
In addition, opponents of this argument believe that smoking should not be banned, since it helps students relax in stressful situations. As for the health risks associated with smoking, they say that every mature citizen should be able to distinguish good behavior from bad behavior.
They say that for several decades, smoking-related issues have been integrated into schools, when a student comes onto campus they should be able to understand the risks that smoking poses to their health, and that's why you need to be in the able to make informed decisions about quitting smoking. They also argue that immediately banning cigarette smoking on campus is grossly unfair, but it is clear that smoking is an additional activity that cannot be stopped all at once.
Arguments against smoking on campus
Although students on campus have the right to smoke within some prescribed areas whenever they want as required by some state laws, they must be aware of the fact that smoking cigarettes has very serious and harmful effects on human health has. Cigarette smoking can cause lung infections in both first-time and passive smokers. Therefore, smokers need to realize that their right to smoke can severely violate the rights of their non-smoking peers.
It is evident that students are aware of the negative effects of cigarette smoking. For example, it is expensive for them, and it can also shorten their useful life. In general, smoking cigarettes is just bad. Currently, at least 43 universities in the US have implemented a total ban on smoking on campus, and this trend is particularly strong in commuter schools and community colleges (Merrill 40).
However, enforcing such a ban at some campuses is difficult due to the mixed response of different interest groups to the issue of smoking and existing campus policies granting smokers the right to smoke in designated areas. According to a US Department of Health and Human Services study, 31% of college students smoke cigarettes. This figure exceeds the overall national average of 25% (Longmire 15).
It is also worth noting that despite the fact that smoking-related issues have been mainstreamed into schools for several decades, smoking continues to attract many young people and this continues to raise many concerns about its future. This is because cigarette smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer cases worldwide.
Research shows that about 80 percent of men who die from lung cancer and 75 percent of women who die from the same disease do so from smoking tobacco. Research also indicates that the risk of lung cancer increases when a person starts smoking at an early age and when the number of cigarettes a person smokes in a day increases (Robicsek 56).
Scientific research has shown that cigarette smoking is harmful to the body. The smoke from a lit cigarette is a mixture of different chemicals produced when tobacco is burned.
This smoke contains a deadly compound called tar, which is made up of more than four thousand highly toxic chemicals, most of which have been positively identified as leading causes of cancer. Most of these chemicals are also known to cause lung disease and heart problems. Some of these chemicals include cyanide, benzene, methanol, ammonia, formaldehyde and acetylene (Merrill 45).
Other deadly substances in cigarettes are highly toxic carbon monoxide and nitrous oxide gases. The most active ingredient in a cigarette is nicotine. Nicotine is a highly addictive compound. Cigarette smoking can cause various problems, including cancer, lung damage, and heart infections, among many other diseases.
Research also shows that more than thirty percent of resulting deaths in the United States are related to tobacco use. Cigarette smoking also causes eighty-seven percent of lung cancer deaths. Other tobacco-related cancers include oral cancer, larynx cancer, throat and esophagus cancer, and bladder cancer. There is also a very close link between cigarette smoking and the development of kidney, pancreas, stomach and cervical cancer.
Cigarette smoking can also cause lung damage that begins in the early stages of smoking. Cigarette smokers have many problems with their lungs compared to non-smokers, and this situation worsens as a person increases their ability to smoke. Smoking is linked to many dangerous lung infections that are just as dangerous as lung cancer. These infections include emphysema and chronic bronchitis, which can cause shortness of breath and even death.
Cigarette smoking also increases the risk of heart infections, which is a leading cause of death in the US and the leading risk factor for impulsive heart attack deaths (Bates 78).
Even light smoking that cannot cause lung infections can damage the heart. Passive smokers therefore also have a very high risk of developing heart infections.
reconciliation of the two positions.
As noted above, Section 7595 of the Government Code states that smoking is prohibited in all public buildings and within 20 feet of building entrances on all campuses (Merrill 36). While this sentence is good, it falls short because it seems to discriminate against innocent passive smokers who continue to suffer from cigarette smoke polluting the air around them.
Smoking cigarettes also has very detrimental effects on true smokers and therefore they should be able to accept this ban as it is for their own good. Although it is very difficult to ban citizens from doing something legally correct, to protect non-smokers, smoking on campus must be phased out. This is because campuses are public places where both smokers and non-smokers live.
My position on this issue differs significantly from that of my opponents, who believe that smoking should be allowed in some regulated areas on campus. My position is that smoking cigarettes should be banned on campus because of the negative impact it has on non-smokers. Banning cigarette smoking on campus would allow non-smoking citizens to enjoy the pleasure of breathing clean air.
However, my stand does not include smoking cigarettes in private places such as at home. At the same time, cigarette smokers need to understand that non-smokers are not trying to be intolerant by constantly complaining about them. Rather, they do it for their own health.
Smoking on Campus: Conclusion of the Essay
In summary, smoking should be totally banned on campuses and universities due to the serious health risks for both smokers and non-smokers. The health risks are much greater for non-smokers because they can double, especially for those who already have other illnesses such as heart and lung problems.
In addition, a very brief exposure of a non-smoker to secondhand smoke can have serious, abrupt effects on their cardiovascular system, increasing their risk of lung and heart infections. This puts the non-smoker at a higher risk of getting infections from cigarette smoke than the actual smoker, but is very innocent. A more effective way to reduce smoking on campus would be to offer on-campus smoking cessation counseling programs.
Works Cited
Bates, Tim and Gordon Mangan. Smoking and Raven IQ. New York: Paperbacks, 2007.
Longmire, Wilkinson und Edgar Torok. Oxford Manual of Clinical Medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
Melo, Maurizio. Smoking and reproductive function. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Merrill, David. How cigarettes are made. London: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Robicsek, Francis. Ritual smoking in Central America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.