Tobacco talk would've staved off dissatisfaction
The Traveler Editorial Board
Issue date: 4/3/09 Section: Opinion
Gov. Mike Beebe signed Act 734 into law Wednesday.
This controversial bill, titled "The Arkansas Clean Air on Campus Act of 2009," will ban smoking on any publicly funded campus in the state of Arkansas. While this sounds the same as the recent tobacco ban on the UA campus, this comes with hefty punishments - $100 to $500 fines.
The law also makes smoking during tailgating or any Arkansas athletic events subject to penalty. Though it will cut down on the amount of secondhand smoke roaming around campus grounds during this time, it might also anger UA alumni who have donated or are currently donating to the university.
And, of course, as any opponent would be quick to point out, the law infringes upon a person's civil rights to smoke tobacco products. The law effectively denies residents of a publicly funded campus the opportunity to use their rights to choose whether to smoke.
But the main problem we see with the state legislature passing this bill is the lack of information Arkansas residents seem to have received prior to it becoming law.
After all, if the Legislature is going to dictate individual choices, they could do worse than to interfere with actions - like smoking - that comprise only a relatively small section of somebody's personal life and negatively affect public health.
And, although the punishment for ban violators seems excessive - as it strikes at a particularly sensitive nerve by placing an enormous fine upon campus smokers at the time of this epic economic downturn - it is possibly the only way the state and UA could enforce a ban this comprehensive and controversial.
But more public opinion research, especially in the state's fastest growing area and main university, was warranted. Such research would have given students and others the chance to express their like or dislike for the controversial bill and would have enabled legislators to more accurately represent their constituents. At the very least, a more open dialogue - and some warning that the state was even thinking about passing such a ban - would have prepared the public to receive this bill more graciously.
Fortunately, the bill will not go into effect until August 2010, which gives both smokers and non-smokers throughout campus more than enough time to learn about the rules, regulations and punishments laid out by the Campus Clean Air Act.
This controversial bill, titled "The Arkansas Clean Air on Campus Act of 2009," will ban smoking on any publicly funded campus in the state of Arkansas. While this sounds the same as the recent tobacco ban on the UA campus, this comes with hefty punishments - $100 to $500 fines.
The law also makes smoking during tailgating or any Arkansas athletic events subject to penalty. Though it will cut down on the amount of secondhand smoke roaming around campus grounds during this time, it might also anger UA alumni who have donated or are currently donating to the university.
And, of course, as any opponent would be quick to point out, the law infringes upon a person's civil rights to smoke tobacco products. The law effectively denies residents of a publicly funded campus the opportunity to use their rights to choose whether to smoke.
But the main problem we see with the state legislature passing this bill is the lack of information Arkansas residents seem to have received prior to it becoming law.
After all, if the Legislature is going to dictate individual choices, they could do worse than to interfere with actions - like smoking - that comprise only a relatively small section of somebody's personal life and negatively affect public health.
And, although the punishment for ban violators seems excessive - as it strikes at a particularly sensitive nerve by placing an enormous fine upon campus smokers at the time of this epic economic downturn - it is possibly the only way the state and UA could enforce a ban this comprehensive and controversial.
But more public opinion research, especially in the state's fastest growing area and main university, was warranted. Such research would have given students and others the chance to express their like or dislike for the controversial bill and would have enabled legislators to more accurately represent their constituents. At the very least, a more open dialogue - and some warning that the state was even thinking about passing such a ban - would have prepared the public to receive this bill more graciously.
Fortunately, the bill will not go into effect until August 2010, which gives both smokers and non-smokers throughout campus more than enough time to learn about the rules, regulations and punishments laid out by the Campus Clean Air Act.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 4
Jeremy
posted 4/02/09 @ 11:46 PM CST
"And, of course, as any opponent would be quick to point out, the law infringes upon a person's civil rights to smoke tobacco products."
I will now commence laughing for 30 seconds in the Family Guy Shatner way. (Continued…)
Oswald
posted 4/03/09 @ 1:51 PM CST
The problem seems to be that smoking kills babies. Oh wait, arkansas government still allows the killing of babies, nevermind... there's more important things to deal with, right?
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