The Utah Statesman

Issue date: 3/21/08 Section: Campus News

Media Credit: Camerson Peterson Di lewis argues against the full tobacco ban during a campus debate regarding whether or not tobacco should be allowed on campus.

The full ban of tobacco products from USU infringes on the rights of students, but a partial ban or enforcing current policy is a better solution to the secondhand smoke problem on campus, said Erik Petros, a debate team member.
USU's debate team held a tobacco policy debate Thursday in the Taggart Student Center Auditorium, where Petros and his partner Di Lewis debated against the full tobacco ban.

Mike Smith and Shannon Johnson, other debate team members, debated for a full tobacco ban.

Smith said a full tobacco ban is better because it doesn't infringe on the rights of the 98.5 percent of students who don't smoke, while the present system does because these students are breathing in smoke they don't want.

Petros said there is a very small, insignificant number of people who smoke at Utah State, which doesn't require such a dramatic ban. He said a partial ban with designated areas to smoke in would infringe on the least amount of rights of the students.

A full tobacco ban includes no selling of tobacco, no smoking and no chewing tobacco on campus, Lewis said.

"If we're banning chewing tobacco, which affects nobody but yourself, we might as well ban Snickers, Twinkies, Hostess and sugary products, because those also harm you and cause obesity and cause health problems without harming anyone else," she said.

Smith said 38,000 people die from smoke exposure without ever smoking a cigarette. A full tobacco ban is the best way to get results, he said. Even if it turns out to be ineffective, it's the best way to start dialogue and get people involved in the process.

"At least we'll spur interest in tobacco policy, making people angry to the point where they get involved in the democratic process here on campus," Smith said.

Johnson said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said more deaths are caused by human tobacco use than all deaths from HIV, illegal drug use, alcohol use, motor vehicle injuries, suicides and murders combined.

She said, "If you're interested in smoking, Utah's not really the place for you. We have Utah Clean Air acts that limit you from smoking inside buildings and limit you from smoking within 20 feet of buildings."

Petros said the tobacco ban policy is based on faulty information, faulty ideas and on information that has not been specifically reported about secondhand smoke or about it on USU's campus.

- apierce@cc.usu.edu

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