Should university campuses be smoke free?

At university, when Monil Salvi feels a nicotine craving coming on, he just steps out of the library or class that he is in and walks the metre or three to the nearest smoking area. His cigarette is in his mouth well before he has reached his destination, ready to be lit and puffed away. The “Report on smoke-free policies in Australia” released by the World Health Organisation (WHO), states that tobacco use is the leading cause of death and disease in Australia. Each year nearly 20,000 Australians die and more than 150,000 are hospitalized due to tobacco-related illnesses.

Smoking is a prevalent factor on most university campuses though, whether it is in Australia or other parts of the world. A comprehensive smoking ban concerning smoke-free enclosed public places has been enforced in Queensland since 2006. The law states that smoking is prohibited in all pubs, clubs, restaurants and workplaces, commercial outdoor eating and drinking areas, outdoor public places, and within 4 meters of non-residential building entrances.

In taking a walk down the Griffith University Gold Coast campus it is hard to miss the designated smoking areas, they’re usually occupied or have cafes and vending machines close by. You can smell the bitter taste of nicotine whiff past you on your way to class and sometimes it gives you company on your route if the smoker is in motion and headed your way. The Griffith smoking policy states that smoking is prohibited in buildings or parts of buildings under the University's control, in any outdoor area of a food outlet, or any outdoor area where food and drink is provided, in University vehicles, within 5 metres of air intakes, external doors, windows and ventilation louvres, and in any other areas so designated from time to time by the University.

Monil who is of Indian origin has been smoking on and off for 7 years, he has tried innumerable times to give up smoking and finds it highly unlikely that he will ever be able to overcome his addiction. According to section six of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act (COTPA), 2003, sale of tobacco products to/by minors and within 100 yards of educational institutions is banned within India and any persons flouting this law are subject to being fined or even taken before a magistrate. Post landing in Australia though, Monil doesn’t feel guilty to light up on campus and finds it convenient for smokers like him.
Ben Doyle on the other hand has not only managed to kick the habit but refuses to be sucked in to it again. He thinks that the designated smoking areas means that everybody wins and smokers still have the freedom to smoke without ruffling any feathers. Ben compares smoking to an addiction to junk food and alcohol which are also sold on campus and believes that as adults, university students have the capacity to make up their minds about these things. “If you eliminate one vice then you must eliminate the others”, he says.

While the facts are irrefutable and proven that smoking is hazardous and while people are aware of the risks of passive smoking or inhaling environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), not much is being done to reduce the risks of either. In spite of smoking bans in public places like bus stops and minors who smoke being punishable by law, very little action is being taken in this area.

The Auckland University in New Zealand has become a smoke-free campus for both staff and students as of 1 January 2010. The ban covers all buildings and land owned by the Auckland University. However the ban does not include any public areas like roads and footpaths surrounding the university.

Chandigarh which is the first planned city in India became a smoke-free city on 15 July 2007. Smoking is banned in all establishments and public places as is the sale of nicotine near educational institutions. Smoking is allowed in the privacy of one’s home or vehicle. Tourists and citizens alike appreciate the clean, smoke free city.
A growing number of universities in America are also becoming more concerned about the health and safety of their students and staff and are implementing stricter non-smoking policies. In 2007 the Gainesville State College University became a smoke-free campus with a design to protect non-smokers from walking in and out of smoke and/or being surrounded by strewn cigarette butts on campus.

Hailing from Egypt and having done her former education in Kuwait and then USA, Doha Seif is now a post-grad student at Griffith. A smoker herself, she is not new to the idea of smoking on campus. At her former University of Minnesota smoking was restricted to select areas on campus. Taking a drag off her cigarette she extrapolated that while she was glad there is no ban on smoking on campus she was a bit taken aback that tobacco was sold at the university book store – ‘Book Mark’. “The cigarettes sold on campus are cheaper than most gas stations”, she said. Standing tall at a little over 155 cms Doha has never had to show proof of age or any form of id on campus. Starting off as a social habit, she now consumes a pack a day and finds it convenient that she doesn’t need to walk a kilometer or so to have a cigarette.

Griffith however does conduct a quit smoking training session that is made available to its students in groups of 10-20 and is offered on application. The program promises continual support mechanisms to those who are trying to quit.
With 41 buildings and thousands of students enrolled on its Gold Coast campus, Griffith has 9 official designated non-smoking areas.
Ben and Doha and Monil represent a tiny fraction of the population on campus, they all stem from different backgrounds and walks of life, they all have cigarettes in common, as do you.

The 2006 U.S. Surgeon General’s report states that there is no risk-free level of exposure to second-hand smoke. Second-hand smoke causes lung cancer, heart disease, and acute respiratory effects. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), every 6.5 seconds a current or former smoker dies.

So what is the bottom line then? If it is too ambitious to imagine a smoke-free world or a smoke-free Australia, would it be too much to expect that the 18 year old undergraduate from Germany, who has never smoked and hates cigarettes could be spared the horror of walking in to a cloud of smoke when she enters university, or sits out on a bench to have her healthy salad for lunch?