Still smoldering

Although most of us probably paid no mind to it this past New Year’s Day, Jan. 1 was the one-year anniversary of the IU smoking ban, a campus-wide prohibition of smoking on IU property with the exception of a few designated smoking spots and private property not owned, operated or leased by the University.

It seemed fairly obvious that smoking on campus at best only marginally decreased. The punishments violators would be given if caught were not enforceable (referring them to the Office of the Dean of Students for review and then action), because it wasted everyone’s time.

The University has therefore formed a committee of students to discuss ways to make the ban more enforceable. One possibility is changing the punishment to ticketing violators when apprehended.

We support the ban on the general principle that people ought to be able to do what they want so long as their actions don’t directly harm anyone else. We have no problem with smoking – smokers know the health risks associated with it and can choose to continue smoking if they want. Instead, what we’re worried about here is that smoking in public not only harms the smoker, but harms the public as well.

Some kind of new method of enforcement is needed, since the one in place has done virtually nothing to eliminate smoking on campus. The upcoming change in the smoking ban attacks the right problem – enforceability. So overall, we are happy with the proposed changes.

However, there are parts of the ban that we find naive and even condescending to smokers. For instance, cessation programs are offered by the University to help smokers quit. Not only is it extremely naive of the University to think it will ever have an entirely smoke-free campus, but it’s not a pressing expenditure, either.

The University advertises it as a program “available to employees and students at little or no cost to participants.” Well, someone’s got to pay for this program, even non-smokers. The miscellaneous fees on our bursar are large enough as they are and most students are willing to see the occasional smoker rather than foot their cessation bills.