UA tobacco-free policy still lacks enforcement
The Traveler Editorial Board
Issue date: 10/31/08 Section: Opinion
The UA campus has been tobacco-free for three months. That's 123 days.
And what's changed after 123 days? Not much. Smokers still linger outside of RZ's Coffeehouse, students still walk through campus blowing smoke and some still don't even comply with the old "25-foot" rule.
Does this noncooperation mean the UA should retract its tobacco-free rule? Of course not. Many have heeded the UA's plea to refrain from tobacco use on campus, and the defiance some have shown is no reason to completely abolish the policy.
Furthermore, we actually like the idea of a tobacco-free policy. In fact, it was kind of a welcome relief to us when it was announced. A little more than a year ago, Mary Alice Serafini, director of the Pat Walker Health Center, told the Traveler that she saw "a tobacco-free campus as a health benefit for the entire campus community."
And she's 100 percent correct in that statement. There's no doubt that tobacco use leads to serious health problems, and it's proven that secondhand smoke is a legitimate health threat. We get it.
The problem, however, is that a tobacco-free campus - at least at the UA - is not proven to work without enforcement. It's nice to think that students, faculty and staff will put out their cigarettes when someone asks them politely to do so, but the fact is, many won't.
And why would they? When their harshest punishment is a dirty glare, there's not much incentive for them to kick the habit, at least on university grounds.
The UA has heard all of these points before, of course. Enough time has passed that hundreds have protested, but the complaints have kind of died down. But something needs to be done, and the dialogue shouldn't end here.
At least in part, the UA modeled its tobacco-free policy off the policy implemented in 2003 at Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield, Mo. For 14 months, OTC officials attempted to run a tobacco-free campus without enforcement, but eventually, they added consequences to their policy.
Why?
Ty Patterson, the director of the Center of Excellence for Tobacco-Free Campus Policy at OTC, told a Traveler reporter that OTC experienced "a little noncompliance, and people were complaining that … people would think we didn't care."
Similar situations have happened at the UA, too. Although students driving their scooters on sidewalks was a regular occurrence last year, it's rarely seen this semester. We think that might have something to do with the fact that the UA Police Department finally began issuing warnings and tickets a few months ago.
In other words, all it took was a little enforcement.
We commend the UA administration for putting students' health first and trying to lead the way with this policy. But instead of pretending like it's working when it's not, officials should look to OTC and the history of the UA for a little guidance.
Without enforcement, this policy might as well be good as gone.
And what's changed after 123 days? Not much. Smokers still linger outside of RZ's Coffeehouse, students still walk through campus blowing smoke and some still don't even comply with the old "25-foot" rule.
Does this noncooperation mean the UA should retract its tobacco-free rule? Of course not. Many have heeded the UA's plea to refrain from tobacco use on campus, and the defiance some have shown is no reason to completely abolish the policy.
Furthermore, we actually like the idea of a tobacco-free policy. In fact, it was kind of a welcome relief to us when it was announced. A little more than a year ago, Mary Alice Serafini, director of the Pat Walker Health Center, told the Traveler that she saw "a tobacco-free campus as a health benefit for the entire campus community."
And she's 100 percent correct in that statement. There's no doubt that tobacco use leads to serious health problems, and it's proven that secondhand smoke is a legitimate health threat. We get it.
The problem, however, is that a tobacco-free campus - at least at the UA - is not proven to work without enforcement. It's nice to think that students, faculty and staff will put out their cigarettes when someone asks them politely to do so, but the fact is, many won't.
And why would they? When their harshest punishment is a dirty glare, there's not much incentive for them to kick the habit, at least on university grounds.
The UA has heard all of these points before, of course. Enough time has passed that hundreds have protested, but the complaints have kind of died down. But something needs to be done, and the dialogue shouldn't end here.
At least in part, the UA modeled its tobacco-free policy off the policy implemented in 2003 at Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield, Mo. For 14 months, OTC officials attempted to run a tobacco-free campus without enforcement, but eventually, they added consequences to their policy.
Why?
Ty Patterson, the director of the Center of Excellence for Tobacco-Free Campus Policy at OTC, told a Traveler reporter that OTC experienced "a little noncompliance, and people were complaining that … people would think we didn't care."
Similar situations have happened at the UA, too. Although students driving their scooters on sidewalks was a regular occurrence last year, it's rarely seen this semester. We think that might have something to do with the fact that the UA Police Department finally began issuing warnings and tickets a few months ago.
In other words, all it took was a little enforcement.
We commend the UA administration for putting students' health first and trying to lead the way with this policy. But instead of pretending like it's working when it's not, officials should look to OTC and the history of the UA for a little guidance.
Without enforcement, this policy might as well be good as gone.
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
Happy Smoker
posted 10/31/08 @ 1:36 PM CST
I just go out and stand in the street. The UofA does not own the Fayetteville streets and Fayetteville does NOT have a total smoking ban. You have the right to smoke in non-UofA areas and none of the citiy's streets belong to the UofA. (Continued…)
Non-smoker
posted 10/31/08 @ 2:50 PM CST
If the UA wants to improve the health of students, they should focus on providing everything smokers need to quit, whether it be counseling or nicotine replacement. (Continued…)
Trevor
posted 11/02/08 @ 1:42 AM CST
Happy Smoker,
Smoking is bad and you shouldn't do it, but standing in the street is totally what I would do if I smoked.
Non-smoker,
Re: car exhaust, you have a point, except: 1) there's roughly ten times as much particulate matter--the stuff that causes cancer--in cigarettes as in exhaust fumes (at normal levels of exposure to each, respectively). (Continued…)
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