One childhood privilege that I miss is the weekly splurge on the
ice cream truck’s eclectic, albeit unhealthy, selection of
Popsicles and candies. I felt pretty smug buying bubble gum in the
form of a pack of cigarettes and showing off smoking etiquette to
my younger brother.
This fondness for cigarettes wore off with the realization that
carcinogens, not lethal levels of sugar, contribute to the
unhealthy consequences of smoking.
Regardless of the consequences, smoking is a personal choice.
But it’s a preference that must be regulated, as one puff of
smoke can potentially ““ and unfairly ““ affect people in
the vicinity. Smokers need to be more conscientious of other
students, especially in large populated places such as in front of
Powell Library or on Bruin Walk, considering that second-hand
smoking is aggravating as well as harmful to non-smokers.
At UCLA, smoking is controlled in public places. According to
the January 2004 enactment of the UCLA Policy for a Smoke-Free
Environment derived from California AB 846, smoking is prohibited
inside any public building as well as the area measuring 20 feet
from entrances.
Community service officer Carlos Silva, who supervises the
Powell and Young Research Library lobbies, told me he hears common
complaints of smokers violating the 20-foot rule.
The concentrated volume of smoking ““ especially in densely
populated areas such as Powell, YRL and Kerckhoff Patio ““ can
be overwhelming.
I initially figured that designated smoking areas on campus,
outside of the high-traffic areas that seem to be popular, would
allow smokers to enjoy their freedom while allowing nonsmokers to
savor their fresh air.
But when I sought smokers’ approval, they said they
probably wouldn’t adhere to such regulations. Irfan Khan,
fourth-year electrical engineering student, stated that the Powell
steps are a common place for enjoying a cigarette to relieve stress
before and during study sessions in the library as well as because
of the central location.
I can empathize; if I were a smoker, I might light up outside of
Powell while studying for a midterm, and I can understand that it
would be inconvenient for smokers if designated smoking locations
were enforced on campus.
However, while I acknowledge that various policies do place
smokers under restriction, it seems nonsensical to not enforce
these rules. Just one person’s decision to smoke harms a
handful of other people who must breathe the contaminated air.
Secondhand smoke has frighteningly serious consequences.
According to various sources, including the American Cancer
Society, 35,000 to 40,000 nonsmokers succumb to heart disease and
3,000 succumb to lung cancer per year as a result of secondhand
smoking.
Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, citing a study conducted
in May 2005 by J. Barnoya and S. A. Glantz, states that “the
effects of even brief exposure (minutes to hours) to secondhand
smoke are often nearly as large (averaging 80 percent to 90
percent) as chronic active smoking.”
Sure, nonsmokers can walk away from cigarette smoking if
forewarned, but the problem is that cigarette smoking is not
detected until inhaled in through the nose, when damage is already
being done.
Instead of imposing further regulations on either group, greater
awareness of courteous smoking should be considered, as Gena
Hamamoto, first-year Asian-American studies graduate student
suggested.
With a cigarette in one hand, Hamamoto stands about 15 feet away
from Powell steps instead of relaxing on them like most others. She
said she never sits on those steps because they are covered with
spit and waste.
Indeed, cigarette butts adorn Powell steps, like the entryway to
a bar or club instead of an esteemed library. Discarding cigarettes
after smoking really isn’t too difficult.
Neither is practicing a little more consideration by taking care
to minimize smoking near others who may potentially be asthmatic,
unaccustomed to cigarette smoke, or just not too keen on exposure
to material identified by the Environmental Protection Agency as a
Group A carcinogen, a classification set for “only 15 other
pollutants, including asbestos, radon and benzene.”
Ultimately, given the industry’s role in politics and the
economy, cigarettes and smoking are here to stay. But for the sake
of lungs, hearts and longevity, please practice smoking etiquette
““ because smoking isn’t child’s play.
E-mail Yoo at jyoo@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to
viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.