Cigarette ban practical?

Wallet? Check. Cell phone? Check. Cigarettes? Well, that depends. \nStudents undoubtedly go through this routine on a daily basis, packing their belongings before trekking to campus. If a proposed smoking policy is approved, effectively banning the use of cigarettes on campus, students may just need to reexamine whether they include that pack of Camels in their daily checklist. We appeal to everyone's sense of logic and forewarn the Students' Smokefree Coalition that their wish to ban smoking outright could be a policy that simply goes up in smoke. \nThe idea, while noble, lacks serious thought concerning logistics and enforcement. As a Sept. 27 IDS article points out, the proposed policy would build on the existing 30-foot rule and would not apply to sidewalks owned by the city of Bloomington. Let us look at those two issues as a basis for why this proposal need not be considered.\nProponents of on-campus smoking may point out that there is already a rule in effect that keeps smokers well away from building entrances. Critics who say this rule is too lenient will likely point out that the policy is often overlooked, and difficult to truly enforce. A quick walk around campus will reveal ashtrays well within 30 feet of many entrances. Take, for example, the northeast entrance to the union (the hotel lobby entrance), where ashtrays sit within a few feet of an entrance. Visitors to the campus may be largely unaware of the 30-foot rule and will naturally smoke near an ashtray. Why not ask the University to stop encouraging people to break the 30-foot rule by moving ashtrays?\nNext, there's the issue of the enforcement of the proposed rule. The proposal by Students' Smokefree Coalition would can smoking on sidewalks -- except those owned by the city of Bloomington. Does anyone, other than maintenance, really know which are Bloomington sidewalks and which belong to IU? Can you smoke on one side of Third Street but not the other? What about in the middle of Fee Lane or 10th Street? To truly delineate what would be an acceptable area to smoke, you'd need yellow lines around all areas that are city property to indicate where smokers can light up and where they can't. \nThe main point here is of logistics and enforceability. Our opposition has nothing to do with smoker's rights or the freedom to choose what one does to one's own body. We are well aware of the scientific research concerning the dangers of second hand smoke, so please, spare us the letter. If a simple policy of no smoking within 30 feet has trouble being enforced, then think of the logistical nightmare a ban (except on certain, undefined, walkways) would have. Do we deputize certain students and make them part of the Smoking Patrol? Are we going to put these sidewalk deputies -- decked out in hall-monitor-style sashes -- at every corner?\nLet's compromise. Smokers: Obey the current rule and avoid blowing smoke in a harmful direction, especially up the skirts of those who can't handle it.